Plus One
by ToMyOwn
Summary: An A/U where Lily Evans has a twin sister named Lilac Evans. With this new character, the entire story of Harry Potter is changed. [Sirius Black, O.C]
1. Chapter One

**CHAPTER ONE**

Lilac Evans had hair a brighter shade of red than her twin sister Lily Evans. That, and her bottle green eyes, were the only way people would distinct one Evans twin from the other. Lilac's hair was a bright blood red which fell in long loose curls. Her eyes were a bright bottle green which shimmered with mischief unlike her sister's emerald green ones. Despite her striking looks and energetic personality, no one ever remembered the younger twin. Lily Evans was the perfect child and Lilac was left in the shadow.

Petunia Evans had blonde hair and pale ice-blue eyes. She looked nothing like her younger sisters and she hated how she seemed plain and less attractive next to the two of them. She hated Lily, but prefered Lilac over anyone else. They both knew what it felt like to be nothing special.

At least, Lilac thought she was nothing special until August, when a strange woman knocked on their door one afternoon. She looked quite old and wore glasses that hung on the bridge of her nose.

"Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs. Evans. I am Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to inform you that your daughters Lily and Lilac Evans are witches," said the old lady. Lilac gawked at her and shot Petunia a look.

"She must be mad," whispered Lilac much to Petunia's agreement.

"I assure you, I am not," said McGonagall seemingly overhearing Lilac's comment. The youngest Evans shrank where she sat and marveled at how extraordinary the old woman's hearing must've been. "I presume that the two of you have done something out of the ordinary before? Made something move by itself when you were angry or upset?"

"Why yes, that happens to me all the time! Sev told me all about Hogwarts!" Lily exclaimed cheerily. Lilac and Petunia shot each other disgusted looks. Ever since Lily had met Severus Snape she'd been talking nonsense about magic. Severus treated Lilac and Petunia horribly and was only nice to Lily.

"Here is your letter, Miss Lily Evans," said McGonagall with a smile. She handed Lily a cream colored envelope before facing Lilac. "And here is yours, Miss Lilac Evans."

"I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I've never done anything remotely strange," said Lilac looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"No need to worry, you are most certainly a witch."

* * *

"I'm going to miss you so much, Tuney," cried Lilac as she clung to her eldest sibling. "What am I going to do without you? I don't want to go!"

"Shush, Lilac, you're a witch, just like Lily! You're special, just like Lily!" Petunia exclaimed trying to cheer up the panicking girl. For the past couple days Lilac had been talking about how excited she was but on the day she actually had to leave, she found herself unable to do so.

"I don't want to be special," lied Lilac. Petunia, of course, saw right through her. For years Petunia comforted Lilac whenever Lily came home from school with awards and good grades. Her parents practically worshipped Lily but never noticed her twin, who held just as many awards and good grades.

"You'll write to me, right? I don't mind if you send your letters with your owl," said Petunia stroking the top of her head.

"B-but you told Lily not to send her owl," stuttered Lilac with pathetic sniffles.

"You're my favorite sister, Lilac. I don't know what I would do if you didn't write to me. I couldn't live without letter from you," said Petunia comfortingly, "now go and get on the train before you make me cry."

Lilac nodded and she boarded the train. Her parents were talking to Lily, forgetting about the two other daughters they had. When Lily looked to Petunia, she found her older sister watching Lilac walk through the train, a tear sliding down her face.

"Goodbye, Tuney," said Lily softly. She tried to hug her but Petunia flinched away. Lily's heart twisted painfully and she ran into the train. Petunia was forgotten however as she saw her childhood best friend. "Sev!"

Meanwhile, Lilac was having trouble finding a place to sit. All the compartments were full and she was too scared to sit with strangers. She never had any friends other than Petunia before. Someone bumped into her and she toppled onto the ground.

"Ow!" Lilac exclaimed noticing blood slowly trickle out from her arm. She looked up to see two guilty boys. One had hazel colored eyes and the other had silver ones. Both had black hair.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," said the hazel-eyed boy. Lilac bit her lip and stood up, straightening up her clothes. "Hold on."

He took out his wand and pointed it at her cut.

"Episkey."

The wound closed immediately much to her amazement. The boys grinned at her dumbfounded expression and she immediately felt embarrassed for her lack of knowledge in the magical world.

"H-How did you do that?" Lilac asked shyly.

"Just do this and say Episkey clearly," explained the hazel-eyed boy making a strange motion with his wand. Lilac repeated after him and he nodded. "I'm James Potter, I'm guessing you're a muggleborn?"

"A what?"

"Your parents weren't wizards, right?" the other boy asked. Lilac shook her head. "You're a muggleborn, a witch born from non-magical folks. I'm Sirius Black."

"I'm Lilac Evans. I'm guessing you're not...muggleborns?" Lilac questioned confused.

"Nope! Sirius and I are purebloods. Everyone in our entire family were wizards," said James proudly.

"Does it matter if I'm a muggleborn?"

Sirius and James shared glances with each other before turning back to her.

"Yeah. Only if you're around the wrong people though," said Sirius frowning, "like my family. They're blood purists but I don't want to be like them."

"My family accepts anybody," declared James proudly. He opened a compartment door and they looked in to see Lily and Severus.

"Lilac!" Lily exclaimed happily. Severus made a face and gave Lilac a look of confusion and disgust. Lilac smiled weakly at her twin. "Sev was telling me about the different houses in Hogwarts."

"The what?" Lilac asked slowly sitting down. She didn't want to be in the same compartment with Lily. She'd prefer sitting with strangers than her sister.

"There's four houses in Hogwarts. I want to get into Gryffindor, like my father, the home of the brave and courageous," said James proudly.

"That's if you prefer brawn over brains," snapped Severus with a glare, "now Slytherin, is the house for the brains—"

"Where do you think you ought to go, seeing as you're neither?" James interjected. Lily and Lilac's expressions matched each other, their mouths both agape in shock. The younger one couldn't help herself however, and soft giggles escaped her. James grinned at her, glad to make her laugh. Sirius joined her with his bark-like laughter and Lily glared at them.

"Come on, Sev. Let's find somewhere else to sit," said Lily getting up. The two quickly walked out, leaving the three to the compartment themselves. Lilac felt a lot more awkward now that Lily was gone.

"You mentioned four houses, what are the other two?" Lilac asked softly.

"There's Ravenclaw, the house for the intelligent, and Hufflepuff. It's the house of the righteous and friendly I guess. It's more like the house of rejects," said Sirius shrugging.

"I'd be alright with getting into Hufflepuff," admitted Lilac.

"What?" James gasped as if it was the most outrageous thing he had ever heard. "You have to get into Gryffindor! It's the best house!"

"I-I'm not that brave," said Lilac blushing.

"You might be a lot braver than you think," said Sirius grinning at her, "just ask the hat to place you in Gryffindor."

"The hat?"

"We've got a lot to teach you about. Do you want to get something to eat first?" Sirius asked jumping up. The trolley lady was a couple compartments away.

"I don't have any wizarding money with me," she said shaking her head.

"That's fine, we're both swimming in galleons," James said taking a couple gold pieces out of his pocket. He tossed two at her and she looked at him unsurely.

"Hello, would you three like anything from the trolley?" asked a lady stopping in front of their compartment. The two boys looked at her and she shook her head, giving the coins back to James.

"I really shouldn't use your money," she said turning the color of her hair. Sirius and James frowned at her before looking at each other.

"We'll take six of everything," announced Sirius. Lilac's eyes widened when they dropped a pile of sweets right next to her.

"Those are yours," said James smirking, "you should've bought something but since you didn't I bought some for you."

"I can't eat all of this!" Lilac protested. She couldn't understand why the two were being so nice to her.

"You can save some for another time. Here, we can teach you all the different sweets. It's a more fun way of learning about the wizarding world," said Sirius tossing her a purple packet. Her eyebrows furrowed when she looked at the label.

"Lesson one," announced James seeing her expression, "chocolate frogs."

The boys were incredibly nice to her. They had healed her arm, taught her a spell, bought her a mountain of candy, and was teaching her everything she needed to know about being a witch. In the boats, she learned their mischievous side as they used a long stick to rock other people's boats.

"What's that boy's name again?" Sirius asked pointing at Severus who was sitting in the same boat as Lily.

"That's Severus Snape," said Lilac eyeing the wand he had drawn. Sirius grinned and winked at her before pointing at the greasy haired boy.

"Hey Snivellus!" Sirius shouted. Lilac's eyebrows raised and he sniggered at Snape's offended expression. "Finally taking a much needed shower?"

A blast of water hit Snape right in the face. James and Sirius burst into laughter and Lilac couldn't help joining in. Lily, of course, was livid. All the anger was forgotten however, when the castle slowly came into view.

"It's beautiful!" Lilac exclaimed in awe. The boat started to tip over towards where she was leaning and James grabbed her arms, pulling her back into the middle of the boat.

"Careful," he warned with a smile, "we can't exactly live here for seven years of you're in the bottom of the Black Lake."

"Thanks," said Lilac gratefully, "and for the candy too."

"It's nothing," he said getting out of the boat. Sirius pat her head as he stepped out.

"What are friends for?"

Lilac watched them in awe, surprised by the new label. They were friends. She never had friends before so now she was feeling over the moon. They were escorted into the school by a half-giant named Hagrid. Once they reached two double doors, they stopped and an old woman she recognized as McGonagall spoke to them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Now, while you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup," said the woman looking over the group of first years. There weren't many of them. "The sorting will begin momentarily."

When McGonagall went into the room, everyone burst into chatter. Lilac found herself wedged in between Sirius and James.

"I can't wait for flying lessons," said James excitedly.

"Flying?" Lilac gasped. They had gone over changing the colors of things and potions but never once had they mentioned flying.

"Yeah. On broomsticks," said James pretending to be perched on one. He ran around her in a comical manner. Lilac laughed along with Sirius. "If you're any good, you'll get to join the Quidditch team."

"What's Quidditch?"

"What's Quidditch?" James wailed. Lilac was startled by his outburst and Sirius chuckled at her terrified expression. "How do you not know what Quidditch is? It's the best sport of all time!"

"Mr. Potter, if you would refrain from yelling on the top of your lungs it'd certainly do the rest of the student body some good," said McGonagall suddenly appearing behind James. "Now, if you all would follow me."

They filed into the Great Hall, all in awe of the magic ceiling. It looked exactly like the night sky they had just been looking at when they were in the boats. As she gazed around the room, she didn't notice how her foot occasionally stepped on her robes. She let out a squeak of surprise as she tripped. An arm grabbed her and she looked up expecting to see James or Sirius but found a different boy instead. He had light brown hair - almost blonde - and blue eyes. There was a band-aid over the bridge of his nose and a scar under his chin.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked softly.

"Y-Yes, thank you," stuttered Lilac with a blush. James pulled her forwards so she'd get a good look at the hat which was sitting on a stool. It was old looking and had many tears and scratches on it. Much to her surprise, the hat started singing.

"Wicked," whispered Sirius appearing on the other side of her. Once again, she was stuck in between the two boys. The hat had a nice voice, she noticed, as it sang about the four different houses.

"Alright, when I call your name, please come up," said McGonagall looking at a list, "Polly Aubush."

Lilac watched in awe as the hat was placed on the blonde girl's head. After a few moments it came to a decision, screaming, "Ravenclaw!"

"Sirius Black!"

She watched her friend strut up to the stool confidently. He sat down and grinned at the Slytherins who watched expectantly. She frowned and looked at James who smirked at her and mirthfully shook his head.

"Everyone in his family was a Slytherin," he whispered. The hat was placed on Sirius's head and not a moment later, he was placed in Gryffindor. Her eyes widened as the Slytherins immediately started shouting nasty things.

"Blood traitor!" yelled an older boy with long white blonde hair. The Gryffindors didn't know how to react either, some of them were happy while some of them were confused and wary. Sirius wasn't affected at all however, and shot James and Lilac a grin. A couple more people were sorted before she was called.

"Lilac Evans!"

When she didn't move, James gave her a light nudge. She shyly walked up to the stool and sat down awkwardly. She didn't like how everyone's eyes were on her.

"There's another Hufflepuff," she heard a boy chuckle, "she looks scared out of her mind."

The hat was placed on her head and she wondered how the hat worked. How did it decide where to place her? Slytherin would not be a suitable house for you. Lilac's eyes widened. Was the hat talking to her? Perhaps Ravenclaw? You are a curious child who has a promising future ahead of you. Hufflepuff would never be right for you, no matter how well you fit it's values. No, you would do well and rise in the house no one would expect.

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled. Fear, relief, shock, and happiness shot through her all at once and she hopped of the stool, rushing over to where Sirius was waiting for her. He laughed at her embarrassed expression and moved over so she could sit. Lily was called up after.

"Lily wants to be sorted into Slytherin," whispered Lilac watching as the hat was placed on the girl's auburn head.

"Not bloody likely," scoffed Sirius frowning, "she's a muggleborn. Slytherin rarely takes muggleborns."

Lilac fell silent and watched as Lily was placed into her house. She bounded over towards them and sat in front of her without a single glance at her. Lily was mad at her, she could tell. James was sorted into Gryffindor without hesitation, the hat was barely even touching a hair on his head. The brown haired boy would had caught her was also sorted into Gryffindor, his name was Remus Lupin.

"There's only four first year boys in Gryffindor," said James once the sorting ended, "you, me, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

"There's Marlene McKinnon, Mary MacDonald, and Lily Evans for the girls. Is Lily Evans your sister?" Sirius asked glancing at the redhead in front of them. She was busy talking to Marlene McKinnon.

"Yeah. She's my twin," said Lilac with a nod. James furrowed his eyebrows and looked between Lilac and Lily, obviously trying to see the similarities between the two. They looked similar, but they were vastly different. After dinner, they were led to the Gryffindor common room by a prefect.

"Boys are up there, girls are over there," said the prefect before leaving. James and Sirius ran up to their room and Lilac followed the other girls in her year up. There were four beds in the room with a golden first year plate on the door. Their trunks were all placed in front of their beds. Lilac was relieved to not be placed in the bed next to Lily's.

"What you did to Sev was mean," said Lily quietly as they unpacked.

"I didn't do anything," said Lilac frowning.

"You let Potter and Black make fun of him! That was awful of you!" Lily hissed lowly. The younger twin scowled at her.

"That was awful of me? I don't think you realize what you've done to Petunia. Plus, Snape hasn't been anything but cold to me. He's been a lot more awful to me than you think," shot Lilac as she climbed into her bed and shut the curtains close. Living with Lily in the same room for seven years was going to be hard.


	2. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

Being friends with James and Sirius definitely had it's advantages. James was an older brother to her and she was sure he felt the same way. He made it his personal responsibility to guide her around and keep her away from the Slytherins. It was quite endearing and she liked spending time with him.

Sirius was her best friend. He was the one who helped her build her confidence and turn her into the mischievous person she always had been. They both playfully bantered whenever possible but would have deep and meaningful conversations at times.

They quickly became friends with Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Near the end of their second year, they discovered that Remus was a werewolf. Instead of running for the hills, they stuck by him, making Remus open up to them more. Peter was a shy boy, much like Lilac when she first met everyone. He was nice however, and she liked drawing with him.

Some time during their fourth year, James developed a crush on Lily. Lilac, of course, was repulsed and warned him but James didn't listen. He joined Quidditch in their second year and used it as an excuse to brag around Lily. Lilac was awful at Quidditch but she could fly a broom, unlike her sister.

"Lilac! Hey!" James yelled as he looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs. He ran up to her and chucked a red and gold jersey at her. "Can you wear it tomorrow? Please? The stupid fourth year McCoragey or something keeps bragging about this bird who's going to wear his jersey tomorrow."

"Then why do you want me to wear it?" Lilac asked confused. Not that she didn't feel honored wearing it. The bright gold number 6 made her smile. An arm looped over her shoulder and she looked over to see Sirius.

"Because you're a better-looking bird. You grew up nicely," said Sirius pinching her cheek. Lilac rolled her eyes at him but blushed. Her skin was still a flawless fair color but her hair had gotten a brighter red. Her eyes and hair became a signature look as no one else looked like her. Not even Lily. She was proud of that.

"I can't say the same for you," scoffed Lilac making Sirius laugh.

"Watch out, James. I'm going to try out for beater next year and you'll have no one to give your jersey to," warned Sirius half-jokingly. James laughed and gave Lilac a quickly hug.

"Thanks Lilac!" he yelled before running back down the stairs. The two stood on the moving stairs for a while before Sirius started to whistle. Lilac turned around and walked into the common room, Sirius following her.

"Lilac, we have prefect duties tonight," informed Remus when she entered the common room.

"Right," she said with a nod. She sat down on the couch next to him, looking over at the essay he was writing. "Charms! I love charms, if you want any help on it I'd be glad to do it for you."

"You're bloody insane if you're offering to do homework," grumbled Sirius sitting down next to her. "I don't get how you're so good at it anyways. Professor Ludther is mad if he thinks people are actually interested in what he says."

"I'm interested in what he says," said Lilac shooting the boy a glare, "this year's our O.W.L.S, we have to do better."

"I need to go complain to James. Four long years and we still haven't corrupted you," sighed Sirius standing up and walking off. She rolled her eyes at him and went up to her dorm. Lily and Marlene were doing homework.

"Is that Potter's jersey?" Marlene asked eyeing the cloth in her hand. Lily groaned and rolled over in her bed.

"Merlin's beard, if Potter's using you to get me to wear his jersey you can tell him no," she huffed in annoyance.

"Well, Lily dearest," said Lilac sarcastically, "he's not. He asked me to wear it tomorrow."

Lily's head lifted up to look at her in surprise. Her mouth had fallen open slightly and Lilac wanted to laugh at the confused and slightly disappointed face her sister was making. It was obvious that Lily had a small crush on James but didn't want to admit it.

"Typical of Potter, if he can't have one Evans he'll want the other," mused Marlene smirking.

"As if," scoffed Lilac folding the jersey and placing it on top of her trunk. She and Marlene didn't get along too well. Marlene and Sirius had dated in their fourth year and they had an ugly break up. Marlene was always jealous of how much time Sirius spent with her too and constantly found small and petty ways to get revenge on her.

The next morning, she put on James's jersey and some leggings before heading up to the boys' dorms. They were all asleep of course, and she walked over to Remus. He was the easiest to wake up. Remus's sleepy eyes opened and he yawned. She then walked over to Sirius who was hugging his pillow with his face buried into it. Sirius always slept like that, he couldn't seem to sleep if he wasn't holding something.

"Wake up," she whispered, lowering her mouth to his ear. Sirius's eyebrows furrowed and he shivered. Lilac laughed and that seemed to wake him up. He threw his pillow at her and she stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

"It's too early," he whined.

"No it isn't," said Lilac going over to James. She studied him for a moment before sitting on his stomach. It wasn't exactly sitting, she more dropped on him. James's eyes flew open and he grabbed his glasses.

"Bloody hell, are you trying to injure me before the game?" James asked with a groan. He then studied her attire. "You're wearing the jersey! Now I know what it'll look like if my Lily-flower wears it."

"I'm taking it off," she said bluntly.

"I'm waiting for the show!" Sirius yelled grinning. Lilac glared at him and threw his pillow back at him. Peter woke up from all the noise and Lilac waited on James's bed as they all got ready for the day.

"Do you think Lily's jealous that you're wearing the jersey and not her?" James pondered running a hand through his hair.

"Definitely," said Lilac with a nod, "she looked so disappointed that you didn't ask her to wear it."

"Then Lily should wear it today!" James exclaimed grinning.

"As if she would agree. You have to make her more jealous than that," said Lilac rolling her eyes. James frowned and shrugged. Today was all about Quidditch. He had no time to worry about girls. Everyone knew that Quidditch was James's top priority.

"Let's go," said Remus opening the door. The five all strutted down to the Great Hall, acting like they owned the place. No one would doubt it, considering how they pulled numerous pranks and always took it with grace. They knew their way around and even the seventh year Slytherins knew better than to cross them.

"Good luck today," called a random sixth year. James nodded at them and they sat down in their designated spot. James sat on her right while Sirius sat on her left. Remus always sat in front of her as they were both the more studious of the five while Peter sat on the left of him.

"Everyone's noticed your jersey on Lilac," said Remus glancing around the Great Hall. James grinned and threw his arm over her shoulders.

"At least no boy's going to steal her away from us," said James happily.

"It's going to happen eventually," pointed out Lilac with a glare. The boys laughed and they quickly ate their breakfast before making their way out onto the Quidditch pitch. James wanted to get in some extra practice while Sirius needed to get to the announcer's box. Lilac was a huge Quidditch fan, if she could play she definitely would've tried out.

"Look, there's the the rest of the team," said Remus watching the two other chasers fly in followed by the beaters, the keeper, and the seeker. They went to the Gryffindor tent and soon everyone started arriving into the pitch.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen," boomed Sirius's voice. There were cheers from all around and the three Marauders rolled their eyes. Lily, Marlene, and Mary sat down next to her. With Lily next to her, they probably looked like red flames.

"There's no way Hufflepuff is winning, their team is awful," said Lilac leaning over the wooden railing to get a better look at the tents. Remus pulled her back and sat her down.

"Careful, you looked like you were going to fall over," said Remus amused, "did you bring your Divination homework?"

"Right!" Lilac exclaimed getting it out. While they waited for the game to start, they worked on the essay together. It was a tradition of some sort. Peter was talking to a couple Ravenclaws.

"The Gryffindors are making their way into the pitch!" Sirius announced. They all cheered as they watched James fly around. Sirius listed everyone on the team and did the same with the Hufflepuffs. "James! You better get that quaffle in! Yeah yeah, no biases, sorry Minnie."

Lilac laughed and she saw James shoot his friend a glare. James was a brilliant chaser and it showed. The boy was insane, doing all sorts of risky tricks. He ended up in the hospital wing more than Remus on a full moon.

"Go James!" Sirius yelled as he scored. "That's 10-0 to Gryffindor!"

There were unhappy shouts from Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Those snakes always chose Gryffindor's opposers. It was a close game but eventually, the Gryffindor seeker caught the snitch. Everyone cheered and jumped around in the stands. Lilac jumped up and grabbed Remus's hand and pulled him down the stands, catching Peter along the way.

"James!" Lilac yelled hurdling herself at him. James caught her and spun her around happily. They had won the Quidditch cup.

"Hey put her down!" Sirius yelled. "I want to get spun too!"

People laughed and James rolled his eyes. Sirius threw an arm around James and Lilac, dragging them back towards the common room.

"Party in the Gryffindor common room tonight!" James yelled making everyone cheer. Lilac looked around and found her sister and Marlene standing at the edge of the crowd, watching the chaos.

In Hogwarts, Lilac finally seemed to find her spot. She was popular, was the top of many of her classes, and teachers loved her. She finally felt special and herself. Lily was smart, there was no doubt, but with the Marauders' help she was even smarter.

"That's the third time in a row that we've won the cup," noted Remus. Lily and Marlene started making their way through the crowd towards them.

"Good game today… Potter," said Lily begrudgingly. James's eyes widened in surprise and the tip of his ears turned red.

"Oh, erm, thanks!" James exclaimed. He then glanced at Lilac and slung an arm around her shoulders. "She's definitely a good luck charm. Keep the jersey, Lilac."

Lilac furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a look. James pulled her out of sight from her sister and Marlene.

"What was that, James? Lily finally talked to you," said Lilac confused.

"Do you think she's jealous?" James asked hopefully.

"I don't think she'll ever talk to me again," answered Lilac with a chuckle. James grinned and let out a whoop before they were joined by Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Hey, what are you wearing to the party?" Sirius asked leaning his arm on her. She glared at him but answered his question anyways.

"Jeans, a tee shirt, I suppose."

"No, wear something skimpy," he said grinning. Lilac hit him in the arm and he laughed. She expected Remus to say something but to her surprise he just laughed.

"Good luck finding me at the party," she said with a scoff. She quickly walked ahead of them.

"Aw, come on, I just want you to flaunt your inner vixen!" Sirius yelled following her. He was referring to her fox patronus and animagus.

"Go away, you dog!" Lilac yelled running. Much to everyone's amusement, he ran after her.

"I know you're a fox at heart!"

* * *

Lilac ran her slender fingers through her red hair as she admired her reflection in the mirror. She wore a floral tank top tucked into a black skirt and nude wedges. Picking up a porcelain comb, she detangled her wild hair before going down the stairs.

"When I said skimpy, I never thought you'd actually do it," drawled a voice when she reached the bottom of the steps. Sirius Black was leaning against the wall next to the bottom of the stairs wearing a plain white button down shirt and black slacks. In his hand, was a bottle that looked suspiciously like firewhisky.

"Firewhisky? You're just asking to be expelled," scoffed Lilac grabbing the bottle out of his hand.

"Are you going to report me, Prefect Evans?" Sirius asked lowly. He placed a hand on her waist and she took a step backwards, a bit startled by his actions. She inspected him and noticed how the bottle was empty.

"Here, drink some water," said Lilac grabbing a glass and giving it to him. Sirius sighed and drank it. James then made his way over, also holding a bottle of firewhisky. "You're kidding me! Don't tell me Remus and Peter are drinking too!"

"No, Remus is too busy trying to get the courage to talk to those girls over there and Peter's snogging those Ravenclaws he was talking to before the game," said James with a shrug.

"Dance with me," said Sirius grabbing her hand. He had pulled her into the middle of the common room before she could protest. AC/DC came on and her eyes lit up. Everyone, especially muggleborns and half bloods, started cheering.

"Ridin' down the highway!" Lilac sang grabbing Sirius's hands and dancing wildly. Sirius laughed at her and sang along. The house went wild as they all sang and danced along with the music. After almost an hour and a half of singing and dancing, they took a break.

"AC/DC, right?" Sirius asked handing her a glass of water.

"Yeah, I'm surprised a pureblood like you knows a muggle band," giggled Lilac curiously looking at him.

"Well, I'm not the best at the whole pureblood thing," said Sirius shrugging. They stood up and went over to a quieter corner. It was hard to talk when there were a bunch of kids screaming.

"Don't you have girls to seduce?" Lilac asked raising an eyebrow. "Your fanclub must been feeling seriously left out."

He chuckled at the pun and took a step closer to her. His silver eyes darkened and she moved back a bit surprised and unsure. He brought up a hand and traced the bottom of her jaw with a finger.

"Seduce? Like this?" Sirius asked bringing his face closer to her. His hand left her chin and to her shoulder, grazing his fingers over her skin. Lilac was frozen to her spot, confused and slightly embarrassed. He hooked a finger under the strap of her tank top and pulled it before letting it snap back into place. "Well, I guess I better go find my fangirls."

Lilac gaped at the retreating boy.

"Bastard," she cursed. She had felt something though. When he touched her she felt like she had been lit on fire. His cool breath hitting her made goosebumps appear and her stomach churned. Almost immediately she wanted to slap herself in the face. She couldn't develop feelings for her best friend, and especially not Sirius.

As their fifth year came to an end, James came up with another one of his not-so-brilliant-but-brilliant-at-the-same-time plans. He wanted to invite all the marauders to his house for August. As an only child, he was bored at home and wanted to have his friends around. Lilac had become like a little sister to him too so it felt strange not having her around. It'd be hard to convince her parents to allow her to stay with four boys however.

"Please mum? James said that it was alright and that his parents would be happy to have me over," said Lilac beggingly. Her mom looked at her dad skeptically. They didn't know anything about the wizarding world so they were completely clueless as to what to do. "Plus, I already stay with them during the holidays!"

"I don't know honey, what about Lily? Is she going?" her mom asked.

"Lily wasn't invited," said Petunia smugly. The said girl stared at her dinner, acting like she didn't care that she wasn't invited when in reality she really did want to go along. "Lilac should go. Lily used to always go to sleep overs with her friends during the summer, why can't Lilac?"

Lilac shot Petunia a grateful look. Her older sister just smiled and kept eating.

"Alright then, you can go," sighed her dad, "just write to us more often alright? I guess it's a fitting reward for those good marks you got. They're even better than Lily's! Perhaps you're best at witchcraft."

"Actually it's because my friend Remus helped me study," protested Lilac humbly, "plus, I heard Petunia got First Class Honors! Which is bloody brilliant since I remember being horrible at muggle school."

"Petunia is quite hard working," said their mom. Petunia's smile widened and Lilac felt happy being able to make her eldest sister feel special. After all, Petunia always made her feel special so she wanted to return the favor. After dinner, she immediately started packing. It was still the middle of July but James said she could go over earlier.

"Lilac, are you really going to leave so early?" Petunia asked walking into her room. She noticed her struggling with her clothes and immediately took everything out before neatly folding them. "You're sixteen years old and you still don't know how to pack your clothes."

"What would I do without you, Tuney?" Lilac asked with a laugh.

"Why don't you stay here for the rest of the month? I only see you for three months a year," said Petunia frowning.

"I can ask James if you can come along," offered Lilac, "it's just that I thought you and Vernon was going to spend more time together before he left for university."

"That is true," sighed Petunia, "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Me too," she agreed before noticing something in her closet, "do you think I should bring a dress along?"


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were definately getting old. It was a miracle that James was even born. Because of their low chance of having kids, James was a blessing to them and they were happy to have more kids over. They had always dreamed of filling up the Potter manor. Her room was located in the west wing right next to James.

"Mum and dad wants me to help them shop in Diagon Alley. Do you think you'll be alright here by yourself?" James asked walking into her room.

"Yeah! I'll just write some letters home," said Lilac smiling at him.

"Thanks, help yourself to the kitchen, Vix," he said leaving. The Potter manor was very homely to her and she felt comfortable enough to treat it like her own house. Walking down to the kitchen, she looked for James's stash of Honeydukes candies. A knock on the door made her confused. Did James forget something?

"Hello?" Lilac asked opening the door. She was surprised to see Sirius standing there. His eyes were red and he had his trunk and things with him. The right side of his face was red and there was a cut with blood. "Sirius!"

"L-Lilac?" Sirius asked confused. He sounded vulnerable but quickly tried to cover it up. "You came here early?"

"What happened? Who did this?" Lilac asked gently touching his cheek. Sirius winced and tried to move away. "Come on, I'll get a bandage."

She grabbed his trunk and started lugging it in. Sirius noticed her struggle and did it for her. He sat down on the living room couch and stared at his hands which rested in between his legs. Biting her lip, she went to the bathroom to look for a first aid kit.

"Where's James?" Sirius asked.

"He went with his parents somewhere, look up," ordered Lilac sitting on the coffee table so she could be seated in front of him. He lifted his head and she started cleaning the wound. "What happened?"

"I ran away," whispered Sirius, "they blasted me off the family tree. My mother slapped me and tried to curse me."

"Oh Sirius," she said with a sigh. After she put a bandage on it, she hugged him tightly. "Euphemia and Fleamont will let you live here. I'm sure of it. Everything's going to be alright, it'll all be ok."

His arms shook as they tightened around Lilac's waist. He buried his face in the junction connecting her neck and shoulder. She silently listened as he sobbed. Sirius had ran away from his family because of blood purity, now he was going to be in danger.

"I'm fine now," said Sirius hoarsely. He lifted up his head and ran a hand through his hair. In order to hug him, she had to awkwardly sit on him. A soft blush grew on her cheeks. Sirius noticed and smirked. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"What?" Lilac asked gaping at him. Sirius burst into laughter. All the gloom from his sudden appearance seemed to disappear.

"It's not like you could seduce me anyways. My fan girls have a hard time doing so too," said Sirius in a jokingly reassuring tone. "You can hardly seduce the Hufflepuff who had a crush on you."

"I can seduce someone if I wanted to," she said with a huff.

"Sure, Vixen," he said sarcastically. Lilac glared at him, annoyed that he wasn't taking it seriously. She moved so she was fully straddling him and smirked at his sudden change in expression. It went from teasing to surprised in less than a second.

"You better be sure," she said breathily. Her hands trailed up his chest and to his shoulders before lightly pushing him back against the sofa. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. Lilac's heart was about to beat out of her chest as she leaned her face closer to him, close enough that their noses grazed. His silver eyes that were rimmed with red from crying darkened and seemed to cloud over with an emotion she couldn't seem to read. When he placed his hands on her waist, she jumped up and walked into the kitchen so he wouldn't be able to see her red face. There was a sound of the door opening.

"Lilac? I'm back!" James called. "Sirius? What are you doing here? Did something happen?"

Lilac walked out of the kitchen to see James with an arm over Sirius's shoulders, listening to his best friend explain his situation.

"I just didn't know where to go. This was the first place I could think of," finished Sirius.

"You can stay here," said Fleamont, "we'd be happy to have you live here with us."

"Really?" Sirius asked, his eyes lighting up. "I don't want to cause any trouble for you by letting me stay here."

"It's alright, dear," said Euphemia smiling at him kindly, "we have more than enough rooms. Lilac even has a room here."

Sirius glanced at her and Lilac felt her cheeks flush. He looked back at James's parents, the tips of his ears red.

"Thank you," he said gratefully.

"Alright! You can have the room across from Lilac's. The bathroom is next to that room," said Fleamont clapping Sirius on the shoulder. James grabbed his trunk and Lilac ran to the storage closet and found some bed sheets, pillows, and blankets.

"I can do it," said Sirius helping her make the bed. Lilac ignored him and pulled the sheets into place. James glanced between the two, feeling the tension in the air.

"Did something happen when I was gone?" James asked curiously.

"No," said the both of them quickly. Once the med was made, James hooked his arms around the both of them and threw his weight forwards so they would all fall on the bed.

"It feels like Hogwarts, with the both of you here," said James grinning, "summer was so boring without you two, Remus, and Peter."

"As if, I know you were stalking Lily and I," scoffed Lilac giving him a glare. James laughed and flicked her nose, making her scrunch her nose.

"I wasn't stalking, I was protecting," he corrected. Lilac rolled her eyes.

"As if you could do anything. You can't use magic outside of school until next year," she said elbowing him in the side.

"I can use magic outside of school in three months," said Sirius smugly.

"What good does that do? We'll be in school by then, you arse," shot Lilac rolling her eyes.

"Well we'll have Christmas break," said Sirius sitting up to give her a pointed look. Lilac narrowed her eyes at him.

"Then we'll have Christmas break at Hogwarts."

"You two can do that," said James jumping up and walking towards the door, "listening to you two bicker isn't exactly how I pictured my Christmas break."

"Let me guess, it's you and Lily curled up next to the fireplace isn't it?" Sirius asked smirking. James grinned and Lilac rolled her eyes.

"Good luck with that."

James and Sirius went outside to play Quidditch and Lilac watched from the ground. She was reading ahead in their curriculums for their sixth year and wanted to do even better now that they were getting ready for N.E.W.T.S.

"Lilac, dinner's ready," said Euphemia opening the back door. Lilac nodded and jogged over to where the boys were currently flying around. She waved her arms and the boys slowly flew down.

"It's time for dinner," she stated. They both got off their brooms and walked into the dining room. The fancy table they had magically grew to accommodate the extra person and there was another set of plates and silverware.

"One thing I've been quite curious about," said Fleamont as they all ate, "are your OWL scores. James got a few Outstandings but mostly Exceeds Expectations. I suspect you got better scores, Lilac?"

"All Outstandings," said Lilac with a nod.

"And how many classes did you take this year?"

"She took all the bloody classes possible," grumbled Sirius unhappily, "she spends all day studying and doing homework. She's turned into Remus but worse. She's a prefect like Remus too."

"Then what about you, Sirius?" Fleamont asked amused.

"In transfiguration," said Sirius proudly, "Outstanding."

"In everything else," said Lilac dryly, "Exceeds Expectations."

Sirius shot her a playful glare and Lilac grinned at him. Fleamont looked at the two amusedly. They had always stayed over at their manor every Christmas since their second year and he loved seeing them grow up. Those two may be maturing into adults but they still bickered all the time.

"Eat more, Lilac. You worry me. Every time I see you, you seem to get thinner," sighed Euphemia when the said girl finished her plate.

"It's quite the opposite," laughed Lilac, "you feed me so well I might turn into a pig at one point."

Sirius sniggered and Lilac threw a potato at him.

August was filled was pranks and childish arguments as the five Marauders were reunited a month before school started. Remus was much like Lilac, spending a lot of his time reading and studying. Peter followed James and Sirius around like a lost puppy but neither of the two minded. By the end of August, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter were probably tired of them.

"Are you sure you five have everything?" Euphemia asked when they were on platform 9 .

"Yep! There's my parents!" Lilac exclaimed rushing over to them. "Mum! Dad! This is Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, James's parents."

"It's nice to meet you," said her dad shaking hands with Fleamont and Euphemia, "I hope my daughter wasn't a handful."

"Oh don't worry. It was pleasant having her over. She keeps my son in line," said Fleamont giving James a stern look.

"Having another female in the manor is quite refreshing," commented Euphemia greeting her mum. The adults talked for a while before Lilac finally spotted Petunia. She hurled herself at her sister, entraping her in a hug.

"Tuney!"

"I missed you so much over the summer," said Petunia hugging her back, "even Vernon was a bit disappointed that you weren't around. Isn't that Lily's dress?"

"N-No?" Lilac said sheepishly. "It was pretty and Lily said that she didn't like this dress and she didn't say anything when I took it. James and Remus said that I looked pretty in it so I kept it."

"You do looked better in it than Lily," mused Petunia looking her over. The dress was white and fell above her knees. There were little birds flying across the skirt in a graceful position. "It was awful, having to listen to Lily talk about Hogwarts all summer. I wish you were there to go shopping with."

"I'm sorry for leaving you," said Lilac sincerely. The two sisters hugged before they had to part ways. She found the boys in the same compartment as Lily and Marlene. Near the end of their fifth year, Lily and Snape got into a fight. She's been clinging onto Marlene more ever since.

"There's the beautiful Vixen we've all been waiting for!" Sirius exclaimed when she walked into the compartment. He stood up and grabbed her hand, making her spin in a small circle. The white dress flared outwards and she laughed, glad that she wore shorts under the dress.

"Lily, isn't that your dress?" Marlene asked frowning at Lilac's entrance.

"It is," said Lily quietly.

"You have impeccable taste, my Lily-flower, it looks beautiful on Lilac," said James grinning at the two Evans. Lily made a face before frowning.

"Don't call me that," she snapped. There was nowhere to sit so she plopped herself on top of James. He didn't mind it at all and even placed his head on her shoulder. It was normal between the two of them.

"So which Evans is it, exactly?" Marlene asked raising an eyebrow. She was really making her distaste for Lilac known. "Lily or Lilac? You're sending very mixed signals right now."

"Lily, obviously," said Sirius frowning at the black haired girl, "after five years you should know that by now."

"It's Lilac sitting on James's lap isn't it? That itself says a lot," replied Marlene snarkily. Lily gave her friend a wary glance but Sirius's expression never changed. He hooked an arm around Lilac's waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"Well, Lily? Would you like to sit on James's lap now?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow. Lilac slapped the arm around her waist but Sirius wasn't affected in the slightest. Lily looked a bit repulsed and confused. James, Lily, and Lilac weren't an issue. Marlene and Sirius was currently having an indirect argument with each other.

"So that's why they call you Vixen. You have all the guys," spat Marlene. Lilac winced. It wasn't the first time she was called a slut by Marlene or any other jealous girl. It still hurt however, and the boys could tell it did.

"McKinnon, we dated for five months and it was great. We broke up almost a year ago though and I've never been happier. If you dislike Lilac that much then maybe you should leave because she's staying around, unlike you," said Sirius putting a stop to Marlene.

Marlene pursed her lips before standing up and walking out of the compartment. Lily glanced at Lilac before following after her friend. All the marauders sat in silence for a moment before Lilac got up and sat down in the newly empty seats.

"That was tense," she commented.

"Why didn't you lot stop me when I dated her?" Sirius asked with a sigh. The four of them shrugged. Marlene was the first person Sirius had genuinely liked and dated because he actually liked her. They were a happy couple but in the end, it didn't work out. Now, whenever the two crossed paths it was an icy interaction.

Being back at Hogwarts was like coming home after a long vacation. They were happy that they were back home but they wished they were still on vacation. Lily and Marlene wouldn't even look at her back in the dorms and Mary was too busy worrying about her looks in the mirror to notice.

"I'm going to sleep in in the boys' dorms," informed Lilac grabbing her uniform and James's Quidditch jumper. The jumper was big enough to cover her tank top and the tops of her legs.

"Lilac," said Lily sitting up in her bed, "we're really sorry about earlier today."

"Yeah alright," she said unconvinced. Marlene couldn't look her in the eye. She walked to the boys' dorm and threw the door open. James screamed and dramatically held his hands to his chest.

"Shut up James," deadpanned Lilac throwing her pillow at him, "it's not funny."

James was cackling however and fell backwards onto his bed, not bothering to put on a shirt. Sirius and James were always shirtless in their dorm and Lilac had learned to get used to it in their fourth year.

"Was Marlene being a bitch?" James questioned. Lilac adjusted her pillow on James's bed and let out a big sigh.

"Lily apologized for her," she said simply, "but I don't want to talk about that at the moment. Have you guys figured out your classes for this year?"

"It's not even the first day of school yet," groaned Sirius tossing his pillow at her, "leave us alone."

"I have," piped Remus.

"If you two are going to start talking about school then get out of my bed," huffed James pulling the covers up. Lilac laughed and laid down next to him. She and James were used to sleeping together after they kept falling asleep on the common room couch together.

"Alright, good night," she called waving her wand. The lights went out and she curled up into a ball, facing away from James. An arm was thrown carelessly over her and she let out an annoyed grunt. She heard James laughing silently and kicked him.

"Shut up, I'm trying to get my beauty sleep," whined Sirius.

"Shut up Sirius," complained Remus.

"Shut up Remus," added Peter.

"Shut up Pete," said James.

"Shut up James," said everyone at once. Nights with the Marauders were always amusing. Sleep was just something completely unknown to the four of them when they were together. In the mornings, they all surprisingly were as energetic as a first year in Honeydukes.

"Looking good, Vix," whistled Sirius as she ran Sirius's comb through her hair. She stuck up a middle finger and kept trying to tame the loose curls. A hand plucked the comb out of her hand and she frowned. James grinned at her and started taming his wild hair to the best of his ability.

"Just give up already," she sighed, "you know it's going to be a mess by the time we get down to the common room."

"She's right," said Remus packing his bag. She felt something brush against her leg and looked behind her to see Sirius with his wand ready to flick her skirt up. Lilac scoffed and stomped her foot down on his.

"Shit! What was that for?" Sirius whined hopping around the room.

"For being a pervert," informed Peter. Lilac clicked her tongue and gestured towards Peter, signaling that he was right. James put the comb down and Lilac took it as her chance to run her hand through his hair, messing it up.

"I hate you," he sighed not even trying to fix it again.

"Love you too, Potter!" Lilac sang as she threw the door open. The boys all filed out but she stopped Sirius. Standing in front of him, she tied his tie which had been hanging untied around his neck, and made sure she tightened it to the point where it was uncomfortably tight.

"You're awful," he said loosening it. She grinned and they sauntered out of the Gryffindor tower and down to the Great Hall. There were whispers from the new first years as they asked who the five were.

"Lily-flower!" James yelled waving at an annoyed Lily.

"Hey love," flirted Sirius winking at a fourth year. Peter and Remus were discussing different types of chocolate, and Lilac smirked at all the watching boys. Ever since she tried to seduce Sirius she had a burst of confidence. Running a hand through her hair, she sat down in her seat with a flourish.

"Someone's confident," commented James raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm more successful than you at attracting attention," said Lilac glancing around at the stares some of the boys were giving her. James did a small pout and glanced at Lily longingly. Sirius sat down next to her, dropping his arm over her shoulders.

"What's with all the stares?" Sirius asked glaring at all the boys looking at them. Lilac pushed his arm off of her but he kept putting it back. "Stop it Vix, you're making it so much harder to keep those stalkers away."

"Stalkers?" Lilac scoffed. McGonagall walked over with their timetables. Before Lilac could even look at her's, Sirius grabbed it and compared their schedules before handing it to James. All the boys compared her schedule to his before finally letting her have it.

"Why are you taking so many classes?" James whined.

"Because I passed all my OWLS," answered Lilac rolling her eyes. "What classes do you have, Moony?"

"About the same as you. Although, I dropped Muggle Studies," said Remus amused by the idea of that class. "I don't know why you take it. After all, you are a muggleborn."

"Exactly. It's an easy pass," said Lilac grinning, "I don't actually have to attend that class. I just need to do the homework and I get the grade for it."

"You're so boring. Let's pay Madame Rosmerta a visit, shall we?" James asked grinning. Sirius and Peter agreed and Lilac shared a look with Remus. They knew that they would get dragged along even if they didn't want to go.

"If you boys get drunk then you'll both be responsible for writing my transfiguration essays," warned Lilac glaring at them.

"Sure thing," said Sirius grinning at her. Now that they were finally taking N.E.W.T level classes, everything was significantly harder and much more challenging. Many of her classes was a mix of all four houses as there were not enough people taking the N.E.W.T class in each house. She made sure to stay away from the Slytherins, but sometimes their run ins couldn't be helped.

"Snape," she greeted coldly as the Slytherin sat down next to her in potions. Professor Slughorn had made it clear that he would be choosing their partners in the class. The Marauders sent her wary looks.

"Evans," he said frowning. Lilac noticed how he was still carrying around his worn old textbook and wondered what was so special about it. Snape practically slept with it. "Is Lily—"

"We're not friends and we most definitely are not on good terms so it's quite inappropriate to ask about my family," she interrupted coldly. There was a snigger and Lilac glared at Sirius who sat behind her.

"Just give her this," he said annoyed. Lilac frowned at the piece of parchment folded up multiple times. Tucking it in her pocket, she got started on the potion Slughorn was making them do.

"Hold on, you're supposed to cut them," she said frowning at the Slytherin's actions. He crushed them under his knife and let the juice drip out. "Or that works too."

"Add 8 sprouts," instructed Snape as he stirred.

"The instructions say 5?" Lilac asked confused.

"The potion will brew better and faster if it's in a more—"

"Acidic environment right, because that'll help it react faster and it'll be more stable. I'd say these sprouts are pretty high on the pH scale," said Lilac examining one of the sprouts. Snape looked at her surprised. "I'm studying for my GED in the muggle world."

"Bloody hell," grumbled Sirius overhearing their conversation, "you're overworking yourself."

"At least I'm actually working," she scoffed. The Hufflepuff he was partnered up with was clinging to his arm, desperately trying to win his attention.

"One second love," said Sirius patting the girl's hand. "I am working. I'm working on getting a couple dates for the first Hogsmeade trip of the year."

"First Hogsmeade trip?" Lilac asked raising an eyebrow.

"First official Hogsmeade trip," he said correcting himself. She laughed and he threw his quill at her. The Hufflepuff girl glowered at her.

"Mr. Snape, Miss Evans, this is an outstanding potion! It's the best I've ever seen!" Slughorn exclaimed. Lilac's eyebrows raised and she looked over at Snape who was writing the recipe down.

"You know, if you added 13 Sophorous beans instead of 12 you'd get better results," said Lilac looking over Snape's shoulder. He paused and thought about it before giving her a funny look.

"If you add an extra bean then the portions would be off and it wouldn't be stirred in evenly," he said frowning.

"Then stir once clockwise after stirring seven times anti-clockwise," said Lilac simply. Snape thought about it before slowly nodding. "I need to get a good grade in the class so do you mind if we work in the library some time?"

"We need to test out your alterations anyways," he mumbled. Class ended and Lilac joined her friends while Snape joined his.

"I pity you," sighed Sirius dramatically, "you had to be partnered up with Snivellus."

"You're the one partnered up with one of your fangirls," she said shaking her head, "one day she's going to kidnap you and stash you in her trunk."

The boys laughed at her remark.

"It's nice to know you're worried about me, Vixen," he said flirtatiously.

"I'm more worried about what will happen to me, Padfoot. That girl looked like she was going to claw my eyes out."


	4. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Sirius's silver eyes watched as Lilac pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail. He admired her graceful movements and beautiful features. The first time he had met her on the train in their first year, she was a short tiny little girl with a stick like figure. Now, she was taller and had grown curves and lean muscles. He watched as he did her make up in the mirror, coloring her lips a soft coral pink. Her every movement seem to entrance him. The nickname Vixen suited her well.

"I'm ready to go," said Lilac turning around. She wore James's Quidditch jumper and washed out skinny jeans. Sirius wondered if she'd wear his jumper if he decided to join Quidditch.

"Wicked," said James grabbing his invisibility cloak. He threw it over her and Remus who were standing side by side. Sirius's heart jolted along with a surge of jealousy as he realized what could happen under an invisibility cloak. Standing up, he lifted part of the cloak and stood under it.

"You can see your leg," said Remus looking down.

"No you can't," said Sirius putting an arm around Lilac's waist and pulling her flush against him.

"The three of us won't fit under here," said Lilac frowning. He was now painfully aware of her hands which rested on his chest. It reminded him of the summer when she had tried to seduce him. He didn't want to admit it, but it worked.

"See you later mate," said Sirius pulling the cloak off of Remus.

"Sirius!" Lilac exclaimed with wide eyes. Sirius grinned at her and pulled her closer to him. Her face flushed red and he let go of her, happy to get such a reaction out of her. They silently made their way to the passageway into Honeydukes. The other three had to use the map to find a way to get there. "What was that for?"

"What?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow.

"You told Remus to go away," she said frowning, "but he was already under the cloak with me. He's a prefect, he can't get in trouble."

"I'm sure Moony can handle himself," he responded dismissively. As if on cue, the three other boys arrived and they went to Hogsmeade. While in the passageway, James and Sirius started singing. Peter was humming along and Lilac listened amused. Remus had a book with him but was smiling.

"C'mon, sing with us!" James exclaimed as he looped his arm around Lilac. "Oh the witches flying on their brooms! Into our hearts they zoom!"

"Shut up," laughed Lilac, "the Cauldron Cadets are so cheesy. I personally prefer muggle music."

"Like AC/DC," said Sirius knowing exactly what she was talking about, "A rollin' rock, electric shock."

The five all sang together, all of them knowing the lyrics. If Sirius and Lilac liked something the others were sure to like it too. They made everything more fun, even if Lilac was constantly studying. When they walked into the Three Broomsticks, Madame Rosmerta wasn't' surprised to see them out of school at all.

"Two butterbeers and three sets of firewhisky shots!" Sirius yelled heading to the bar. Rosmerta nodded at them and went to the back. Sirius took it as his chance to made a comment about her. "You think Rose is into students?"

"Oh shut up, you dog," scoffed Lilac shoving him. Sirius laughed and mirthfully leaned against her. The blonde woman came back with their drinks.

"Watch those four," advised Rosmerta, "don't let them get drunk."

"Will do, Rose," she said grinning. When she was about to take a butter beer, Sirius grabbed her hand.

"Those are for Remus and Peter. Today you're going to have fun," he said pushing three shots of firewhisky in front of her.

"I'm supposed to make sure you don't get drunk, not get drunk myself," hissed Lilac frowning at him. Sirius gave her a smirk and downed a shot.

"Love, I'd get drunk on you," he said in a low voice. Lilac's eyes widened and Sirius laughed, loud barks cutting through the loud chatter. She picked up the small shot glass filled to the brim and warily looked at James who was downing his second shot.

"What does it taste like?" Lilac asked picking up a glass.

"Fire," said James watching her closely, "but it's good. You don't have to drink it if you don't want to."

Biting her lip, she decided to just do it and drank the shot, tipping her head backwards. The liquid burned and she grabbed Sirius's arm to keep from falling off the barstool. After a while however, the burning taste turned more pleasant and she felt good.

"So?" Sirius asked watching her expression.

"It's… not bad," she mumbled looking over at Remus and Peter who were watching her. She picked the second one and drank it. "Augh. That's disgusting."

"Slow down there," mumbled Remus warily. Lilac smiled goofily, the alcohol finally reaching her. Sirius downed another shot before noticing her slightly buzzed expression. She was obviously a light-weight.

"Moony's right," he said grabbing her hand before she could drink the last one. He waved Rosmerta over. "One water for the light-weight."

While he was doing so, Lilac picked up the last shot with her free hand. Remus jumped up and grabbed it, taking the shot and drinking it himself. He made a face as he did so and Lilac giggled. She gave him a sultry look and slid a hand up his torso. James started choking and Remus turned bright red, frozen to the spot. Peter's mouth dropped open and Sirius slammed his glass on the counter, making Lilac yelp and jump. That seemed to snap her out of her intoxicated daze.

"Drink," he said shoving the glass of water at her, "maybe we should start heading back."

"Yeah, definitely," said James grabbing Lilac's arm, "come on Vixen. Next time we'll have you stick with butter beer."

As the four started to leave, Sirius grabbed his last shot and downed it. Madam Rosmerta gave him a knowing look and walked over to collect all the empty glasses and the money.

"You like her," she stated, "but you haven't told her."

"She doesn't need to know," said Sirius going through his pocket for money. Rosmerta pinned his hand to the table when he held it out to hand her the money. His eyebrows raised high. She was two years his senior but they had known each other during school. She was known for being a blunt person who got what she wanted.

"Then the next time she shows interest in someone don't stop her," she said challengingly. His hands clenched into fists as he visualized her putting her hands all over Remus or another man.

"I'm just protecting her," he said lowly before forcing the money into her hand and storming off. He found his friends halfway back to Hogwarts. Lilac had sobered up by then and she was talking to Remus animatedly. It was as if nothing had happened between the two of them and they were suddenly best friends. He wondered if they were anything more than just friends.

"What took you so long, Padfoot?" James asked hearing him approach them.

"Just talking to Rosie," said Sirius sending Lilac a wink. She gasped and hit the back of his head.

"You didn't!" Lilac exclaimed accusingly. James and Peter howled as they realized what Lilac was talking about. Sirius laughed and picked her up, wrapping his arm right under her bottom. "Ew! Get away from me, Sirius! Godric, you didn't wash your hands did you?"

"Why would I?" Sirius asked mockingly. Lilac paled and hit him on his shoulder repeatedly.

"Bastard!"

* * *

Severus Snape looked up when he caught a whiff of lilacs. He looked up to see Lilac. Ironically, she smelled just like the flower she was named after. Her beautiful red hair was damp and she looked like she had just came out of the shower.

"You're late," snaped Severus glaring at her.

"Do I care?" Lilac shot back raising an eyebrow. The tension between them was like two magnets with their same sides facing each other. They repelled each other no matter what. Unless one of them was willing to switch sides, neither would willingly come together.

"Did you give Lily the note?"

"I'm not close with her, but yes, I gave her the note," said Lilac taking out her cauldron and placing it on the table. They had switched their meeting spot from the library to an old abandoned classroom as Madam Pince would not have been happy with a temperamental experiment exploding in the middle of the library.

"What did she say?" Severus asked hopefully.

"Fuck off," grumbled Lilac annoyed, "I came here to work on the potion, not your dumb and non-existent love life."

"Don't speak like you have a love life," snarled Severus, his voice going higher and louder. He was obviously offended and embarrassed by what she had just said. Not that it wasn't true, anyways.

"Oh really? I bet I could get a love life faster than you ever could," she scoffed.

"I'm not here for your childish antics," he said pushing her bet to the side.

"Apparently you're not here for the potions either."

The two glared at each other for a minute before they got back to setting things up. The Draught of Living Death was the next potion that they would be making in class and both wanted to practice before they had to create one for a grade.

"Instead of cutting the beans—"

"Crush them, I know," interrupted Lilac cutting him off. He handed her a silver knife and she started crushing the beans. He was right, crushing them were much easier and more efficient than cutting. "Why didn't you like me? Ever since we first met you hated me. It was always Lily."

"Why wouldn't I?" Severus asked giving her a dark look. "Lily's my friend."

"Was."

"You're not sisters. You barely even know her. You and your sister was always leaving Lily out for no reason. Of course I hated you when you hated my friend."

"No reason?" Lilac asked scoffing. "You don't know anything about me, Snape."

"Lily was supposed to be happy at Hogwarts. She was supposed to be in Slytherin with me. She was supposed to be away from you and your horrid muggle sister," he spat, angrily taking out the sloth brain.

"Happy at Hogwarts? Oh I think she was perfectly happy back at home, where everyone practically worshipped her. Don't you ever wonder why Petunia and I never liked your Lily? Because she was perfect, and we weren't. Lily and I were twins, but does anyone ever remember that? No. Petunia and I grew close, yes, but we were all we had. My mother forgot me once. My own mother. She left Petunia and I all alone in the supermarket while she went to get Lily the pink balloon she oh so desperately wanted. She never knew what it felt like to be forgotten and left in the shadows until Hogwarts."

"So this is all it was?" Severus demanded angrily. "Jealousy and revenge? Is that why you and your friends attacked me last year? To make sure Lily's friendless?"

"No. This was me learning how to be me. I'm not Lily Evans and I never want to be her. I'm Lilac Evans and I'm perfectly happy with who I am," she said firmly. "I don't care that you're friends with Lily. Everything that happened last year? That is all on you. You called her a mudblood. Not me."

The two stirred their potion in silence for a while. Severus thought over her words carefully. He had ever considered Lilac's side in the story. He had grown up listening to Lily wail about her family but had never wondered why.

"It's working," mumbled Severus noticing how it turned into a pale shade of lilac-purple. Once they were finished with the potion, he took out a mint leaf. Slowly, he dropped it in the middle of the cauldron. It quickly shriveled up and died in less than a second. Shock and pride filled the both of them.

"It worked!" Lilac exclaimed loudly. Severus winced at her volume and silently celebrated.

"You're quite adequate in potions, Evans," he said with a hint of respect in his voice. Lilac's smile grew and he nodded her head at him.

"And so are you, Snape. I best be going now. I don't want the boys wondering where I've run off to," said Lilac pouring their potion into two flasks and stuffing one in her bag. The other was given to the Slytherin. She rushed out before he could make a comment on her choice of friends. To get back to the common room she had to pass by the library. There, a seventh year Ravenclaw by the name of Westley Creevy was waiting for her.

"Lilac," he said stepping in front of her, "do you have a moment?"

"Yes?" Lilac asked confused. She had never really talked to him before. Once or twice they shared a conversation over a book but that was all. He had bright blonde hair and blue eyes, he reminded her of Petunia.

"I was wondering if you had a date to the first Hogsmeade trip," he said with a nervous smile.

"Oh, no," said Lilac with a small smile, "why? Did you want to go with me?"

"Well actually, yes," he admitted. Lilac beamed at him.

"Alright then. It's a date," she said walking off. She was actually quite surprised with herself. All her life she had watched Sirius pick up girls and throw them away. Lilac didn't realize how much she had learned from him. Back in the common room, the Marauders were hanging out in front of the fireplace. It was now getting late and not many people were in the common room.

"Where were you?" James asked curiously.

"With Creevy," she answered, sitting on James's lap comfortably.

"With Creevy?" Sirius repeated, turning his head to look at her. When their eyes made contact, she felt a shiver go up her spine. The look he was sending her was dangerous and almost angry.

"Yes, with Westley Creevy. I have a date with him soon," she said casually. There was a long silence and Lilac furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what she had said or what had happened. Eventually Sirius got up and calmly walked up the stairs.

"I'll talk to Sirius," said James lifting her up and setting her down where Sirius was just sitting.

"Me too," said Peter rushing after James. Lilac looked at Remus curiously who just gave her a reassuring look.

"Sirius got in the Quidditch team. He's a beater," he informed. Lilac's eyes widened.

"That's brilliant!" Lilac exclaimed. Remus smiled and got up.

"Good night, Lilac."

* * *

Lilac couldn't understand what had happened to Sirius. The other night he had shut himself in their dorm and forced her to sleep in the girls' dorms. The next morning however, he had no problem clinging to her.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Lilac sighed as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She didn't mind being back-hugged by him but she was trying to get to class on time and he was not helping.

"You smell like Lilacs," he mumbled. Lilac's cheeks burned as she struggled out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" Lilac demanded. "I need to get to class so leave me alone."

She noticed his frown and pulled them to the side. "Is something wrong? You're not usually this clingy."

"Nothing's wrong," he said tightening his grip around her. She turned around and examined him. His eyes looked tired and he didn't look as well-kept than usual. Obviously there was something wrong.

"Sirius," she said softly. His eyes darkened as she placed her hands on his cheeks. As if she was fire, he pushed her away and left. Lilac ran after him and followed him into an old abandoned classroom. "Sirius! What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing," he said gruffly. She grabbed his arm and made him face her. He glared at her, which took her aback. In all six years that she'd known him he'd never once sent a dirty look at her. They had argued a couple times but they were always playful and half-hearted. She was shoved against the wall before she could even process it. Something hot was against her mouth and her heart stopped when she realized it was Sirius's mouth.

Lilac didn't even notice her eyes closing as Sirius explored the cavern of her mouth. One of his arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer to him while the other was placed gently on the back of her neck. Her hands found themselves tangled in his long scruffy hair. Lilac didn't even know what she was doing, she had never been kissed before.

When they ran out of air, Sirius moved away slightly, his face still hovering above her's. She slowly opened her eyes to see Sirius's silver eyes examining her carefully, watching to see her expression. Her heart was pounding out of her chest and she struggled to catch her breath. He brushed a lock of red hair out of her face before kissing her again, this time being softer and sweeter. A soft moan escaped her as he trailed his mouth across her jaw and down her throat.

"Sirius," she said breathily, "stop it. Sirius, stop."

Sirius froze and lifted his head to look at her. He was addicted to her and the taste of her lips and skin. The smell of Lilacs was intoxicating and he wanted so much more. He could barely breath around her yet he felt like he couldn't live without her.

"Forget about Creevy," he said firmly, "don't go on a date with him."

"Marlene will kill me," she said looking at his lips and then looking back at his eyes.

"Then we won't tell anyone," he said simply, "just shut up and stay here."

"I have class," she said pushing him away, "we're late!"

Sirius groaned and allowed her to drag him to class. Their DADA professor was not impressed. James raised an eyebrow and Remus gave them a disapproving look. Instead of sitting down next to James, Sirius pulled her into an empty seat near the back so they could sit next to each other. Normally, she'd sit next to Remus and Sirius would sit next to James.

"Mr. Black and Miss Evans, how nice of you two to grace us with your presence. Now, if one of you could tell me what a dementor is?" Professor Kerrile asked annoyed by their loud entrance.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them," said Lilac automatically, "They can also consume a person's soul, leaving their victims in a permanent vegetative state, and thus are often referred to as 'soul-sucking fiends', rendering a person an 'empty-shell'. Dementors are also used in Azkaban to guard the prison and the Dementor's kiss is like the Wizard equivalent of the death sentence."

"Very good, Miss Evans. Now how do you combat the Dementors, should you get too close to them?"

"She can demonstrate it," spoke Sirius with his head on a hand. He was gazing at her with a piercing gaze which made her want to flush with embarrassment. Professor Kerrile raised his eyebrows.

"Go ahead."

Lilac glared at Sirius and took out her wand.

"Expecto Patronum," she said calmly. A blue fox spewed out of the tip of her wand and ran around everyone and jumped from one desk to another gleefully. People gawked at it in awe and Sirius smirked at her.

"Very good! 20 points to Gryffindor!" Professor Kerrile yelled over the chatter of all the students. The fox disappeared and everyone started talking about how they wanted to learn how to produce a patronus. The professor discussed Patronuses for the rest of the class and since the Marauders were very well adequate with the spell, they entertained themselves for the class.

"Where were you two?" Remus asked curiously.

"Pranks," lied Sirius with a shrug. Lilac tried to hide a smile and looked around, her eyes finding a certain Slytherin who was trying to tell her something. He tapped his potions book and then drew a four on it. She nodded and then turned her attention back to the Marauders who were talking about Quidditch.

"Next year I'm going to be the Quidditch captain," said James proudly.

"For the game coming up you're wearing my jersey," said Sirius grinning at her. James frowned.

"She's wearing mine. She always wears my jerseys," he said unhappily. The two argued and Lilac rolled her eyes.

"Boys, I'm choosing whose's jersey to wear," she said making the two look at her, "I'll wear Sirius's jersey this time. After all, you need to start trying to get Lily to fall in love with you, James."

At four o'clock, she met Severus in the classroom they usually worked in. The two fell into their usual work pattern, picking out a random potion in his book to work on. Lilac found that he wasn't all that bad and he was good company if you didn't provoke him. Severus realized that Lilac wasn't as awful as he had thought after listening to Lily for years.

"What are you going to be after Hogwarts?" Lilac asked randomly. "Probably a potioneer?"

"The DADA professor," he said after a moment of silence.

"What? But the DADA professors never last more than a year. You should find a different profession," she said disapprovingly, "I don't want to have to get a report stating that you were missing and then have to hunt you down."

"You want to be an auror," stated Severus deciphering her words.

"Yep. Along with James and Sirius," she said adding the ingredients to the cauldron. Severus added an extra drop of extract.

"Don't follow Potter and Black around. They're only trouble," he grumbled.

"Looking out for me, are you?" Lilac teased with a laugh. "They may be trouble but I know they mean well. They've stopped bullying you, haven't they? James and Sirius have grown up a lot over the summer."

Severus was silent as he worked. Lilac noticed the tension around him and wisely didn't say anything more. They had little conversations as they stirred their potion, making little hypotheses about what they could do. It was comfortable, working with him. Soon it started to get late and they both went their separate ways.

Lilac practically lived in the boys' dorms. Her trunks were in their room and James liked sharing a bed with her. They had both grown used to it which made sleeping by themselves in the summer strange.

"No," said James not allowing her to sleep in his bed, "you're not going to wear my jersey."

"You're such an arse," sighed Lilac grabbing her pillow and going to Sirius. James looked disappointed and immediately called her back.

"No, Lilac c'mere," he whined.

"She's mine," said Sirius smugly as he wrapped his arms around her. James huffed and closed his curtains childishly. Sirius flicked his wand and the curtains around his bed closed. Now that they had the privacy in his bed, he attacked her mouth with his.

"Tomorrow's the full moon," she whispered when they caught their breath. Sirius nodded and pressed his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes and the two comfortably fell asleep with their arms around each other.

Lilac was always a morning person, waking up before anyone else. What she didn't expect, was to see Sirius already awake. He was watching her lovingly and smiled when she opened her eyes.

"Come on," he whispered opening the curtains and getting dressed. Lilac got her clothes and closed the curtain so she could change. Once they were both ready, they went out of the common room and to one of the secret passageways.

"Where are we going?" Lilac asked as they walked hand in hand.

"A date," he said grinning, "Hogsmeade is tomorrow and there will be too many people around to go on a date. We'll go on a date today instead."

"How romantic of you," she giggled. He smirked at her and pecked her on the cheek. When they reached Hogsmeade, he let her drag her into Tomes and Scrolls. Usually he'd have complaints about going to a bookshop but he wanted her to enjoy herself.

"What's that?" Sirius asked when she took out an old dusty book.

"I don't know, it's written in old runes," she said furrowing her eyebrows, "I want to buy this. Maybe I can decipher it."

"Alright then," he said taking out a couple sickles and paying for the book despite Lilac's protests. They went to Gladrags Wizardwear after that and had fun trying on the most ridiculous articles of clothing they could find.

"Sirius, look at this!" Lilac exclaimed holding up a headband with stag prongs on top of it. Sirius laughed and put it on his head, grabbing faux glasses and pushing them onto his face. He dramatically pranced around her.

"Oh Lily, accept my love!" Sirius wailed.

"Never, you arrogant toe-rag!" Lilac exclaimed acting along. They laughed before putting everything away. They ended up buying a couple things from the store before going to the Three Broomsticks for lunch.

"When was I ever wrong?" Madam Rosmerta asked when the two walked in holding hands

"Shush, no one's supposed to know," said Sirius with a smirk. They ordered a couple sandwiches and talked about things for a while.

"Sirius?" Lilac asked as they walked out of the pub.

"Yes love?" Sirius asked swinging their interlocked hands.

"What are we?"

"Well, you're a witch and I'm a wizard," he said with a smirk. Lilac scowled and pulled her hand away from him, making him frown.

"I meant what is this? If this is just going to be another one of your flings I'm just going to leave now," she said turning to look at him. Sirius's eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed both of her hands.

"You're not a fling. You're my girlfriend, I thought that was already clear?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow.

"As clear as pumpkin juice," she said sarcastically. Sirius laughed and they went to Zonko's. If they were going to spend the entire day together they'd need a good excuse to tell the other Marauders.


	5. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

It most likely looked strange, seeing a red fox and a large black dog tackle each other whist a rat sat on top of a large red stag. A large werewolf was watching the fox and the dog, waiting for the right moment to join in. Clack-like grekkering sounds came from Lilac, while low growls came from Sirius. Lilac yelped when Remus joined in and tackled her, almost crushing the small fox.

Sirius snarled at Remus protectively and pushed him off of her. The wolf and the dog fought while Lilac curled up on top of James's back. Peter squeaked from on top of James's head. Soon they all calmed down and started trotting through the Forbidden Forests. They had to keep Remus far away enough so that he wouldn't catch the scent of all the students in the castle. When the sky started to get lighter, they headed back to the Shrieking Shack and waited for Remus to transform back into his peaceful human self.

Every time they were animagi near Remus in his wolf form, they got injured. It was unintentional most of the time and they were normally small scrapes. Sirius padded over to where Lilac was resting and licked a wound on her shoulder, making her bite at his snout. He barked at her and she snarled at him before stopping. James pranced around the room while Peter squeaked in terror from atop his head. Remus was just watching them all calmly, slowly regaining his human characteristics.

"Good boy," murmured Remus scratching the top of Sirius's head. Remus was now a human again. Sirius barked at him and nudged Lilac with his snout. He was much larger than the little red fox so everytime they were in their animal forms he bullied her around. A nudge from him could send her toppling over.

"I'm tired," yawned Peter changing out of his rat form. James followed suit, his black hair devilish. Lilac and Sirius transformed back and Remus noticed the cut on her arm. He guiltily stared at it.

"She's fine, mate," said Sirius patting Remus's shoulder, "we all are."

"Well, I would be if I didn't need to get bullied by Padfoot as a fox," quipped Lilac in faux annoyance. Remus cracked a smile and pulled her into a hug. The other four exchanged looks. The day after the full moon was always a very touchy and emotional one for Remus.

"Back away," mumbled Sirius prying Remus away from Lilac. They headed back to the castle and got as much sleep as they could. Their sleep cycles were suffering and the other students in Hogwarts could tell something way going on, although no one knew what it was exactly.

"You all look worse than usual," remarked Marlene as she and Lily sat down near them. Sirius smirked.

"So I look better than average?"

"Egoistic jackass," shot Lilac throwing a piece of bread at him. Lily's attention turned to her and she gasped.

"What happened to your arm?" Lily asked leaning over to get a better look. "Why is it that everytime you spend time with them that you get hurt? This is exactly why I tell you that being around Potter and his friends is no good!"

"It wasn't their fault that I got injured," defended Lilac frowning. She was slightly uncomfortable by the attention her sister was giving her. "I was being clumsy and got injured. Sirius helped me bandage it last night."

Lily pursed her lips and sat back down. Breakfast was quiet and uncomfortable. Lilac could tell James was hurt by what Lily had said and wanted to reprimand Lily. They were all relieved when classes started.

"What are you reading?" Remus asked noticing the old book she had.

"It's just something I found at Tomes and Scrolls," answered Lilac writing down translations under the runes. Being the brightest witch in their generation, she was the top of their runes class. If anyone could decipher the book, it was her. It wasn't until after dinner that she started to realize what the book was.

It was a book on ancient and forgotten magic. Some of it would definitely be banned by the Ministry if they knew it existed. The book was an original too, something she noticed when she flipped through and found empty pages in the end. It was a notebook.

* * *

Severus made his distaste for her outfit very clear. The red and gold jersey she wore screamed Sirius Black. Not to mention the number two on it and Black written across her back. Girls shot her envious looks and boys sent her longing ones. Severus however, was annoyed and repulsed.

"Cheer up, Snape. It's Slytherin vs. Gryffindor," she said grinning, "wait, nevermind. Your house has never won against mine and yours never will."

"I will hex you, Evans," he snapped.

"Try me. I'm the top of the class for a reason," she said. He opened his mouth to say something but Lilac beat him to it. "I know all the spells you created too. I'm not daft, Snape. You can write it in any code, any form of runes, and I will still be able to figure it out and read it. Don't underestimate muggleborns like me."

"I don't," he said although they both knew he did. There was a knock on the door and they both looked over to see a younger version of Sirius. This one had shorter hair and was less attractive. He wore a silver and green jersey with the number seven.

"Snape, Evans," he greeted coolly.

"Regulus Black," she greeted with an unsure voice. This was the younger brother of her best friend and boyfriend. They had seen each other multiple times but this was the first time they had formally met.

"Regulus, what are you doing here?" Severus asked frowning.

"I wanted to know where you went for multiple hours every couple days. Turns out you were once again spending time with a Gryffindor. A muggleborn Gryffindor. An Evans," said Regulus walking in.

"My blood purity and my name has nothing to do with who I am," said Lilac sending him a frosty glare, "seeing as Sirius is your older brother, you should know that well."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Evans," sneered Regulus. There was a hint of sincerity in his voice however. "Severus however, has a habit of choosing redhead muggleborns with the last name Evans as company. Considering his current relationship with the last Evans, it's reasonable for a friend to be concerned."

"I assure you, Lily is as similar to me as you are similar to Sirius," scoffed Lilac eyeing him. "Don't you have a Quidditch game to get to?"

"Don't you have a lover to support?" Regulus shot back.

"He's not my boyfriend," she said automatically.

"Don't lie. I can read my brother better than anyone else," he said. His voice wasn't as cold as before which made her falter. "Keep your secret well, Evans. If my mother finds out that Sirius's new rendezvous is a muggleborn she'll have you both killed."

"Regulus," warned Severus harshly. A stab of fear hit her but she kept her expression blank.

"Interesting. You've grown soft again, Severus. Remember, she's a taken woman," said Regulus before walking out. His words seemed to make Severus freeze up and stiffen. Lilac could tell his walls had been put up.

"I should get going," said Lilac knowing that he needed to be alone for a while. Severus nodded and she gathered her things. Once she put them in the boys' dorm she made her way to the Quidditch pitch. Peter had saved her a seat as usual.

"Is something wrong?" Peter asked quietly. He was always the most observant. "You look pale."

"She always looks pale," snapped Marlene from behind them. Lily frowned and gave her a concerned gaze.

"Paler than usual," added Peter blushing.

"I'm fine Pete, thank you," said Lilac smiling at the blonde haired boy. "I'm probably coming down with a cold or something."

"Here," said Remus pulling off his light blue and gold jumper.

"I shouldn't. If Sirius doesn't see his jersey he'll throw a fit," she said with a laugh. Remus frowned and forced it over her.

"He won't mind if it means you're healthy," he said as he helped her get her arms through the sleeves. The jumper was huge on her, going down to graze just above the middle of her thigh.

"It smells like chocolate," she said smiling. Remus chuckled and they watched as the Gryffindor team flew out on their brooms. Lilac saw Sirius look around eagerly but his smile dropped when she saw the jumper she was wearing.

"He'll understand," said Remus comfortingly. The Slytherins flew out onto the pitch and the two teams got in position to face each other.

"Gryffindor will win," said Peter confidently.

"With a team like that, why wouldn't we?" Lilac asked pointing at the Slytherins. They were awful this year and the only good player was Regulus. The elder Black knew it and seemed a bit annoyed. His grey eyes scanned the Gryffindor stands lazily before he found her. An eyebrow arched at her new outfit before looking back at the Gryffindor seeker.

The game came to an end as abruptly as it started. It has barely reached the hour mark before Regulus caught the snitch. It was to no use however, as the rest of the team was so poor. James was able to score 190 points before they caught the snitch. Watching the Slytherins was giving them second-hand embarrassment.

"James!" Lilac yelled as she ran through the celebrating crowd. She tackled him in a hug before she was lifted off the ground and spun around like he did every time they scored a victory. When she was put down, she saw Sirius angrily yelling at Remus on a hill far away from them. James followed her line of vision.

"Don't worry about Sirius," said James knowingly, "he's just jealous of Moony."

"Jealous?"

"You're Sirius's girl, everyone can tell. Remus would be the daftest person on Earth if he didn't know it too," said James with a chuckle, "you like him. I can read you better than I read Sirius."

"Did he say anything?" Lilac asked panicking. She thought that Sirius had agreed not to tell anyone.

"He likes you back," said James shrugging, "just tell him. You'd make a good couple."

Lilac sighed in relief, realizing that James didn't know anything. She was giddy and flattered when she heard that he liked her, even though she already knew that herself. Sirius's girl. She liked the sound of that. Lilac's boy— no, man, as Sirius was turning 17 in less than two days.

"I'm going to go talk to him," she said leaving James's side and following after the angry pureblood. Remus gave her an apologetic look before going to join James in the celebrations. Sirius made his way up the astronomy tower and Lilac had to sprint to follow him. "Sirius! Wait! Sirius!"

Sirius whirled around when he reached the top, staring down at her with dark eyes.

"I don't share, love," he said lowly, "you should know that better than anyone else. If you were cold you should've gotten my leather jacket."

"You love that jacket. If I got it dirty you wouldn't speak to me for months," she protested with a frown. She walked up to him and touched his arm, trying to soothe him. Her attempts were in vain as he grabbed her hands and pulled her against him.

"Don't do that, love," he murmured, "unless you want to give me a very eventful early birthday present, I suggest you don't give me any ideas."

She shivered and leaned into his chest.

"What do you want for your birthday?" Lilac questioned.

"You," he said simply, "in bed. With me. Naked."

"Sirius!" Lilac exclaimed flushing red. He smirked at her and pressed his lips to her neck, sucking on the skin and grazing over it with his teeth. A whimper sounded from the back of her throat and she clenched her fists on the shoulders of Sirius's Quidditch jumper.

"What do you think? We can go to the Shrieking Shack so we won't get interrupted," he said lifting his head to give her lips some attention.

"That's an awful idea," she said when he pulled away, "I'll get you some things from Zoko's instead. Or would you like a date in Hogsmeade? Or we can go drinking with the other boys."

"As long as you'll be by my side," he hummed. She grinned and started making her way down the stairs.

"A date that is then!"

James looked at her expectantly when she got back. He seemed disappointed to not see Sirius with an arm around her waist snogging her senseless. Remus furrowed his eyebrows and Peter sighed.

"I thought you were going to get together?" James whined disappointed.

"You thought wrong, Prongs," she said patting his shoulder, "we're friends, James. We'll get together when you finally get Lily to go on a date with you."

"Well then I'll have to get Lily's attention at the party tonight. For now Peter and I will make you irresistible," said James determinedly. Lilac immediately got a bad feeling about what was going to happen. She was dragged into the boys' dorm.

"Hey!" Lilac exclaimed as James ruffled through her trunk. Her cheeks flushed pink as he pushed past her undergarments. He wasn't surprised or affect by the least as they had practically lived together for years. Lilac could walk around shirtless or without pants on and he wouldn't care. James could walk around in his boxers and Lilac wouldn't care either. They were practically siblings.

"Here," he said flinging a short black skirt at her and a tight top. Pushing her onto his bed, he drew the curtains and forced her to change. When she opened the curtains, James was holding Sirius's brown leather jacket.

"That's Sirius's though," she said as he helped her put it on. The jacket was large on her, much like Remus's jumper.

"Exactly. Alright, don't let him touch you at all tonight. He'll go crazy," instructed James with a smirk. He pulled out her black platform heels and looked over her appearance approvingly.

"What do you mean?" Lilac asked frowning. James pulled out a chair in front of the mirror and she sat down.

"Sirius craves physical contact, he can't live without it. The more desirable you look the more he'll want to touch you. If you don't let him he'll slowly start craving for you even more," he explained. Peter walked in and James beckoned him over.

"I'm really good at making buns," said Peter with a big smile. Lilac's eyebrows raised sky high and James chuckled.

"The Ravenclaws he dated last year taught him," he said answering her unspoken question. Peter brushed her red hair and pulled his back in a messy bun that looked elegant and hot at the same time. He made sure that a few strands framed her face.

"Wow, don't tell me you lot know how to do makeup too?" Lilac asked picking up her bright wine-colored lipstick. She then put on a bit of gold eyeshadow that shimmered when it hit the light correctly. Remus walked up to see how she was doing.

"Sirius went to Hogsmeade to get some butterbeer and firewhiskey," informed Remus. Lilac stood up when she finished putting on mascara.

"How do I look?"

"Hot," said James grinning, "alright, so our goal is to make Sirius want our little vixen. He's obviously jealous of Remus since he's the biggest threat in the way of Lilac. How about you two stick together for the party?"

"But you just said that I was the rock in the pathway," protested Remus confused. He really didn't want to get Sirius more mad at him than he already was.

"We just need to show him that he needs to make a move quick or else someone else is going to get her," said James with a shrug. The door opened and Sirius's head popped into the room, his eyes widened when he spotted Lilac.

"Merlin," he whispered under his breath. Lilac blushed under his intense gaze as his eyes swept down and then back up. James and Peter were both trying to conceal their excitement while Remus made sure to take a large step away from her.

"How's the party going, Padfoot?" Remus asked.

"Great," said Sirius not completely focusing. James walked forwards and hooked an arm around Sirius, dragging him out of the room.

"Let's go keep the party alive," he said as they walked down the stairs.

"Put your arm around her," said Peter nudging Remus softly. Remus gave Lilac an unsure look before letting his arm slide around her waist and hold her to his side. The two look at each other before Lilac burst into giggles at how ridiculous they looked. The three then made their way down the stairs and she felt Sirius's eyes latch onto her - or more likely, the arm around her.

"Firewhisky?" a seventh year offered. He had a lusty look on his face and he seemed quite interested in her. Sirius grabbed the boy's shirt and yanked him backwards. The seventh year seemed to take a hint and left her alone.

"You look delectable," he said lowly. He was definitely flirting with her and there was no way Lilac was going to be easy for him. She winked and grabbed Remus's hand, dragging the werewolf onto the dance floor.

"Sirius is going to kill me," complained Remus nervously.

"It's alright," she said glancing back at the glowering animagus.

"I don't know how to dance," said Remus looking around at the dancing bodies. Lilac laughed at his innocent expression and grabbed his hands, placing them on her hips lightly. He raised an eyebrow and blushed.

"Just keep them on my hips," she instructed before moving her hips to the music. Belly dancing was something she had picked up over the years she had been sneaking into Hogsmeade. Rosmerta had taught her a couple things in the dancing department.

"What the hell?" Remus asked in a lower voice than usual. Lilac laughed and lifted her hands off of his so she could place them on his shoulders instead. A couple people watched her in awe and Sirius Black was definitely one of them. The rage he felt when he saw her moving her hips in such a sultry way for Remus made his blood boil.

"Mind if I steal her away, Moony?" Sirius asked trying to hide the anger and annoyance in his voice. Remus's hands shot away from her hips and he backed off. When he tried to put an arm around her waist, she pushed his hands away. Instead she hooked an arm around his neck so that her back was almost flush against him.

"No touching," she taunted, "you touch me and I stop."

"What the fuck?" Sirius groaned as she belly-danced. His hands hovered above her hips, longing to touch her but restraining himself. The feeling of her moving against him was killing him and he had trouble breathing. Without realizing, his hands settled on her hips. Lilac froze and moved away from him.

"See you later," she said breezily before grabbing a glass of butterbeer and walking off. Sirius gawked at her retreating figure and grabbed a shot of firewhisky, downing the much needed drink.

"Fuck."

* * *

Sirius Black got his birthday wish after all. Lilac made sure that every moment that happened after they danced would leave him wanting more. It was all worth it at the end as she sighed in content, snuggling her face closer into Sirius's bare chest. He was still asleep, completely spent by the actions the night before. Her legs were sore and she didn't want to move at all. Slowly she grabbed a potion out of her bag that sat on the floor next to the bed and drank it. A few minutes later she was back up on her feet.

"Where are you going?" groaned Sirius as he noticed her pull her shoes on. He normally hated waking up next to the person he had shagged but Lilac was different. She was his girlfriend and he wanted her next to him forever.

"The library," she said simply.

"You'd leave me for that hell?" Sirius asked in mock annoyance.

"Yeah," she said, pressing a kiss to his forehead and walking out. She needed to study as she had a lot on her plate. First of all, it was her N.E.W.T. year so she needed to get good grades. She was also trying to get her GED so her parents wouldn't be ashamed of her whenever their muggle friends came over for tea. Aside from those, she had the large old book she had bought on her first date with Sirius. The things she was learning in the book were dangerous and she realized that she wasn't safe knowing such information.

"Order of Occlumency," said a familiar voice. With the tap of her wand, the old book shut itself and it's words scrambled and turned invisible. "Curious topic to read about, Evans. Might I ask what for?"

"What do you want, Black," snarled Lilac glaring at Regulus. He sat down across from her as if she wasn't getting ready to hex him all the way to his mother and then down six feet to his grave.

"To help you," he said simply. She got up and put all her books in her bag. "Calm down, Evans. I didn't mean to spook you. I meant it when I said that I wanted to help you. I know Occlumency."

"Even if I believed you I wouldn't want help from a pureblood supremacist like you," she snarled.

"I never said I would be giving my help for free!" Regulus hissed harshly. "As much as I hate to admit I need help, and who better than the brightest witch of our generation, Lilac Marigold Evans."

"How do you know my middle name?" Lilac asked with a gasp.

"Legilimency. It's the same way I know what you and my brother did last night."

"Fuck you, Regulus Black," she hissed feeling vulnerable by the sudden lack of privacy. Her entire mind was open for him to read if he wanted to and she already knew first hand that he wouldn't ask permission. "What do you need help with?"

"Severus," he said lowly. Looking around, he leaned over the table. "He turns 17 in the beginning of January and the Dark Lord… he's interested."

"What?" Lilac gaped. She knew that Severus had been heading down the wrong path ever since he called Lily a mudblood in the end of their fifth year but she never realized that it had turned that bad. "You have to stop him!"

"I can't, Evans. You're his friend, you do it," said Regulus clearly annoyed that he had to as a Gryffindor to talk to his Slytherin friend. He didn't like how Severus was more attached to Lilac than him.

"Friends?" Lilac gawfed. "We hate each other."

"It doesn't matter. We need to keep him from joining the Death Eaters."

"I thought you'd be the first to join that."

"You don't know me."

"You're right. I don't."

The two glared at each other before Regulus finally broke.

"I was asked by Dumbledore to keep an eye on Sirius before he ran away," he said looking at his hands, "after he ran, the Dark Lord started seeking out young purebloods or half-bloods. My family was one of them. If I ran, both Sirius and I would be killed. If I stayed an acted as if I was like my parents, we'd both be spared."

"That's why you know Occlumency," she said putting the puzzle pieces together, "that's awfully brave of you. How did you not get sorted into Gryffindor? We could definitely use a seeker like you."

"Hilarious," he said dryly, "anyways, if you help me I'll help you."

"Alright. It's a deal."

* * *

This is my first author's note in this story. I was so excited about updating since I've been getting good responses but the day I was supposed to update... I forgot. I'm honestly so dumb it's hilarious. Anyways, I hope you like how the story turns out!


	6. Chapter Six

During Christmas break the boys were immensely disappointed that she would be studying for the entire break. No matter how hard they tried she was stuck to her books. They were all charmed to turn into runes if anyone tried to read what she was reading. It didn't faze her as she was practically fluent in ancient runes. Euphemia worried over her all the time as she didn't like how Lilac seemed to be overworking.

"Why don't you take a break?" Euphemia asked sitting down on the bed next to her. The Occlumency book shifted into runes. Papers that were stacked around her were erased. All of this was done without her looking up.

"I can't, Euphemia. I need to get this done," she mumbled turning the page. Euphemia sighed and stroked the top of her head before leaving. She knew there was no tearing Lilac out of her room when she got into a study mode.

"Love?" Sirius asked pressing feathery kisses to her neck. It was now almost the middle of the night and he was getting water until he noticed a light coming from her room. If she thought he was going to let her waste away with her nose in a book she was wrong. "Look at me. You need to sleep."

"Sirius," she whined when he took her book away. He placed it on the nightstand and pulled the bed covers over the both of them, wrapping his arms around her so she wouldn't be able to get out.

"Shh, just get some rest," he murmured.

"I hate you," she said half-heartedly. He chuckled against her skin. It was nice to have her full attention again, after spending a week being ignored by her. In the morning however, he knew that she'd be buried in her studies once again.

* * *

A Horcrux is an object in which a Dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality. Horcruxes can only be created after committing murder, the supreme act of evil. The process for the creation of a Horcrux involves a spell and a horrific act is performed after the murder has been committed. There are usually protective measures made to prevent a Horcrux from being stolen and destroyed, such as Counter-Charms and Jinxes. The Horcrux is considered the most terrible of all Dark magic.

A chill went up her spine and she quickly did her best to put up mental walls. The old book she had was radiating with dark magic and evil now that she knew what was in it. Her mind went to Dumbledore, he was one of the best people she could tell. There was so much danger however, and it was overwhelming. The more she read, the more paranoid she got. In her mind Voldemort was always lurking and waiting for information while in reality he didn't even know of her existence.

Lilac dropped the book out of her hands as if it burned her and scrambled away. She found herself having a hard time breathing and threw the door open, running through the large manor to see if she could find Sirius.

"Lilac? Are you alright?" James asked being the first to notice her. She choked out a sob and threw herself at Sirius, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso, silently begging him to shield her from the world with his arms.

"Hey, Vix, calm down," said Sirius soothingly. He pulled her closer to him and patted her head. She was having a panic attack, he had experienced enough of them in his childhood to know that. What he didn't know was what pushed her to have one? "Breath in, and then breath out."

"T-Thank y-you," stuttered out Lilac as her sobs started to turn into sniffles and eventually stop. James, Remus, and Peter looked spooked and terrified while Sirius was completely understanding. He was safe, even though James was like her brother, Sirius was the person she felt the safest with.

"Is everything alright?" Sirius asked concerned.

"It's fine, I'm fine," she said wiping away tears and pulling away from him, "just stressed maybe?"

"Alright," he said warily. James looked like he wanted to say something but Sirius shot him a glare. Lilac left the room to go back to her's. They waited until they were sure she was out of earshot before speaking.

"What happened?" Peter asked confused and worried.

"It was a panic attack," explained Sirius, "it's basically periods of intense fear. Something's going on with her. Do you think Lily will know what's wrong? Or maybe her muggle sister Petunia?"

"I don't think so. If she hasn't told me there's no way she'd tell her sisters," said James shaking her head. Sirius also felt a bit hurt that Lilac was keeping secrets from him but at least it wasn't just him.

"Maybe we should asked Dumbledore and see if he knows anything?" Remus suggested. The four boys all agreed. Sirius wondered if he should try looking into her mind. In all the years he had lived in 12 Grimmauld Place, the most useful thing he had learned was Legilimency and Occlumency.

Getting up, he walked towards Lilac's room to check up on her again. She was reading the dusty old book again. With a sigh, he sat down next to her and rested his head in the crook of her neck.

"Vix," he murmured, "can't you tell me what that book's about?"

"No," she said putting it down on the nightstand. Sirius furrowed his eyebrows. "Not yet. Maybe when I figure out what it's all about but right now, I just need to keep trying to figure it out."

"Then at least take a short break? Everyone was really worried," he said staring into her green eyes. He was searching them, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to use Legilimency on her. In the end, he decided against it, knowing that he should just trust her instead. He got a bad feeling about the book however, and knew that if she didn't tell him soon he'd find out himself.

* * *

Lily was used to spending Christmas without Lilac or Petunia around. Her older sister was off having dinner with her boyfriend Vernon and her twin was with the Potters. She couldn't understand why Lilac was friends with James Potter and Sirius Black. Remus was quite nice and she was friendly with him too, along with Peter, but James and Sirius was downright annoying prats.

"Lily! There's an owl at the window!" her mum shouted. Lily walked into the living room and opened the window, a small brown fox with hazel colored eyes flying in and settling on the coffee table. A red letter in its beak.

"Hello, Hazel," she cooed as she stroked the owl's feathers. The bird gave a satisfied hoot, dropping the letter. On the front was Lilac's very distinguishable handwriting. It was in a mix of cursive and print, with large loops and the 'i's not dotted.

"Who's it for, dear?" her mum asked looking over. "Petunia? Give it to her when she get back home, alright?"

"Alright mum," she said putting it on the counter where she knew Petunia would see it. Lilac always wrote letters and sent presents to Petunia. Lily was left feeling isolated from the two sisters, not understanding why or when it had happened.

"How are your grades at school?" her dad asked curiously. Lily bit her lip, knowing exactly what they were going to say. They always prefered the one who did better, was prettier, or more popular. She sort of understood how Petunia and Lilac must've felt when they were younger.

"I'm doing well," she said after a moment's thought.

"And Lilac? Top of the class, I assume?"

"Yes," she answered quietly. Her dad beamed and looked over at her mum.

"What do they call her? Brightest witch of their generation? Our daughter did that," he said spinning his wife around. Lily wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. Whenever they had dinner with their neighbors her parents would brag about Petunia and whenever Lilac was home they'd shower her with affection. Lily just couldn't understand why her two sisters seemed to dislike her so much.

Watching Lily build a snowman outside her house, there was nothing Severus wanted to do more than to wish Lily a good holiday. Lilac was spending her holidays at the Potters much like every year, although he wouldn't mind if she was at the Evans' household this time. He still hated the eldest Evans daughter however, and he doubted that would ever change. An owl landed on his head, much to his annoyance. There was a red envelope in its beak and a yellow present in its talons.

"You're Evans' owl aren't you?" Severus grumbled noticing Lilac's handwriting on the red envelope. The owl hooted, accidentally dropping the letter. It flew down to retrieve it before dropping the present in his hands. His name was written on the tag.

The owl flew away with the red envelope as he gently pulled apart the yellow wrapping paper. Inside was a new cauldron with a letter inside it. His crooked nose caught a whiff of the familiar scent of lilacs as he opened the letter.

 _Merry Christmas Snape, sorry for breaking your cauldron, here's a new one to compensate. Lilac Evans._

Severus didn't know whether to scowl or fight a smile off. When he went back home, a couple of his Slytherin friends were there. Regulus was among them. They were discussing their plans now that they were nearing the age where they could be recruited as Death Eaters. The idea of it disgusted him. A year ago he would've taken the chance but now, he couldn't even bare to think about joining the people wanting to kill Lily and the other muggleborns.

"Ah, Severus, how nice of you to join us," said Avery grinning. It was sick and morbid.

"I'm not sure what you mean," he said calmly, "you are in my house at the moment. Uninvited, might I add."

"Loosen up, Snape," said a female voice. He scowled when Bellatrix Lestrange pushed her way through the crowd. "You should be honored to be hosting this gathering. After all, my Lord is quite curious with your abilities."

"I am underage still."

"Your date of birth is coming up in a few days and he already has a… birthday gift… in store for you," said Mulciber with a sly smile. Severus met eyes with Regulus, who kept a cold and unfazed expression on his face, much like his own.

"Well I guess I should look forwards to it," he said dryly, "however at the moment, I do not appreciate having unwanted guests in my house. No matter how… important or secretive your conversations must be."

"You heard him," spoke Regulus gaining everyone's attention, "let us not bother our soon-to-be Death Eater even more."

* * *

"What's a horcrux?" Regulus asked leaving Lilac's mind. The redhead froze, fear hitting her. She was frustrated that she couldn't keep the boy out and terrified that she might've put someone in danger.

"It's ancient magic," she said putting up a muffling charm she had seen in Snape's book.

"I know that," said Regulus frowning, "what exactly does it do?"

"It holds a piece of your soul, ensuring that you will never die," she said quietly, "I think You-Know-Who is planning to create one."

"What do you plan on doing?" Regulus asked warily.

"I'm not planning anything," she said defensively.

"I can tell you're thinking. I overheard my brother talking about you. Your eyes turn a lighter shade of green whenever you're thinking," he said staring at her intently. Lilac frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable that he knew so much about her yet she knew so little.

"I'm going to destroy it," she said quietly, "if I can figure out how."

"You'll get yourself killed. Does Sirius know about this?" Regulus demanded. He looked a lot like Sirius when he was angry. Dark silver eyes, a clenched jaw, and nails digging into her arm.

"No, he doesn't," she said pulling her arm away, "and I don't plan on telling him right now. Not when I don't even know for sure if a horcrux exists."

"Don't lie to him. My family already raised him up on lies," said Regulus sitting down in front of her. She felt her mind being prodded and clenched her teeth, determined to keep him out. It was as if she was having a migraine and she wondered how long he would try to break in.

"Stop it!" Lilac finally exclaimed. Regulus leaned back lazily in his chair. "It hurts. How do you bare this?"

"I don't. I alter my memories so then I can save myself the effort," he said casually. Lilac gawked at him, feeling completely cheated. Anger coursed through her veins and she stood up loudly.

"Any you didn't think to tell me that before?" Lilac nearly shrieked. Regulus had a self-satisfied expression on his face.

"I wanted to see how well you could hold up. I'm impressed, Evans," he said.

"Of course, I can do spells you could only dream of," she spat annoyed, "I'm two years above you, remember?"

"I am a pureblood, it gives me an advantage over some of the others not so fortunate to have parents who can teach their children before they are sent off to Hogwarts," said the boy before giving her a curious gaze. "What spells would you know of that I don't?"

"I can regrow limbs by uttering two words," she said thinking of the dusty old book. There were many spells in it that were unheard of. Many of them were dark magic but there were a couple surprisingly useful ones.

"That's not possible," said Regulus furrowing his eyebrows in disbelief, "if it was I would've known it."

"You don't know everything," she said simply.

"You don't either."

"Obviously," she scoffed, "why else would you be helping me with Occlumency?"

Regulus glared at her and she just quirked her eyebrow at him. Both of them turned their attention to Severus Snape who had arrived. He looked awful, paler and more tired than usual. Dark circles were more prominent under his eyes and he was unkempt.

"Severus?" Regulus asked warily. The older Slytherin dropped his things on the table and pulled up the sleeve of his robes. Ice pierced Lilac and she froze at the sight of the black ink staining his pale skin. Regulus blanched and Severus fell into his seat defeatedly.

"Y-You…" stuttered Lilac with wide eyes. Severus winced at the terrified look in her eyes. She looked ready to run out of the empty classroom they were meeting in. It was what he was expecting and dreading.

"I couldn't refuse. He was going to kill me if I did," he said quietly, "but I don't want it. I don't know what to do, Lilac."

Her words got stuck in her throat when he called her by her first name. He seemed completely broken. Reaching out, she grabbed his arm and yanked the sleeve up, examining the snake and skull.

"What is this?" Lilac asked trying to keep her voice steady.

"It's a Dark Mark. The Dark Lord gives it to all the people in his inner circle," explained Regulus quietly. Severus went to pull his sleeve down but she slapped his hand away, eyeing the dark ink.

"Lilac," warned Severus giving her a look.

"Shut it, Sn— Severus. Inner circle, you say? How good are you at Occlumency?"

"Better than Black," said Severus eyeing her. Regulus waved his wand to make sure all the muffling spells were in place.

"Lilac Evans here has found some very pressing information that we will be needing your helps with," he informed, understanding Lilac's intentions. Snape's eyes snapped to her and she winced at his burning gaze.

"The Dark Lord will kill you if you try to interfere with his plans," he warned dangerously.

"That's why I need to learn Occlumency, and fast," she said clutching her wand tightly, "but I do need your help. I think he's going to make a horcrux."

"A what?"

"A horcrux. It's a piece of your soul that you hide in an object and it makes you practically immortal. After all, it could be anything in the entire world," she explained, her voice going quieter. "It's extremely dangerous and it's an ancient dark magic."

"How do you know this?" Severus asked eyeing her. "We can't let anyone else get their hands on that information."

"This," she said holding up the book. Severus opened it but frowned when the words changed into different types of runes and repeatedly scrambled themselves. "I made sure that no one other than me can read it."

Placing her hand down on one of the pages, the words stopped swirling and faded into letters that they could all read. Severus's eyes scanned the page on Horcruxes and she noticed his jaw clench.

"How do you destroy them?" he asked looking up at her.

"I don't know," she admitted, "all I know is if the Dark Lord somehow knows about this type of magic, we'll need to find the horcrux and destroy them no matter what. Perhaps Fiendfyre but that's incredibly difficult."

"You must learn to close up your mind. If the Dark Lord finds out…"

"She's gifted in the area, Severus," said Regulus giving Lilac an approving look, "she's quite powerful. If she was to learn how to control Fiendfyre, I wouldn't underestimate her in the slightest. She can keep me out of her head longer than you'd expect."

"Should I be flattered or offended that you thought so lowly of me?" Lilac asked dryly. "Perhaps it would've been more effective if you had taught me to warp my memories instead of wasting my time."

"It's a very important skill, Evans. Even my cousin Bellatrix wouldn't be able to try and force herself through your mind if you learned how to hold it up for a few more minutes," he said with a shrug.

"Well then you keep working on Occlumency. I'll try and find out more about the Horcrux and we'll figure out how to destroy it," said Severus looking at the other two for agreement. They both nodded.

"I should get going before my friends wonder where I am," she said putting her stuff away. A hand grabbed her arm before she could leave. She looked over her shoulder and frowned at Regulus who was looking at her intently.

"Take this," he said holding out a shiny silver ring, "it's Goblin-wrought silver. Extremely rare and valuable. Never take it off."

"Why are you giving this to me?" Lilac asked confused. "You said it was rare and valuable. You shouldn't be giving it to random people, especially a muggle born Gryffindor like me."

"A muggle born Gryffindor. That's exactly why I'm giving this to you," he said pressing it into the palm of her hand. Severus stared at the ring, his expression telling her that he knew exactly what the ring was.

"Wear it," said Severus immediately, "it's charmed."

"What charms?" Lilac asked suspiciously.

"It lets us know when you're in danger," answered Regulus coolly. She examined the ring carefully, noticing the cursive 'B' on the inside of the ring. Hesitantly, she slipped it onto her middle finger on her right hand.

"Thank you," she said quietly, "although I'm not sure how to explain this to Sirius."

"Then don't," said Severus obviously not liking her choice in boyfriend. Lilac rolled her eyes and left. Walking down the halls, she found the rest of the Marauders playing pranks on a couple second years. Sirius's eyes lit up when he saw her and grinned. The second years were saved as the boys turned their attention to her.

"We never see you anymore," whined James slinging an arm over her shoulders, "stop studying so much. Even Remus doesn't study so much!"

"You don't look like you've been eating properly," said Remus frowning. Sirius pinched her cheek and she scowled.

"Honestly boys, stop it," she huffed, "I've had a good day and you four are messing it up."

"Where'd you get that ring from?" Peter questioned. He was always the first to notice things. All eyes went to her hand and she could see the suspicion in Sirius's eyes. He grabbed her hand to examine it.

"It's an early birthday present from Petunia," she lied, hoping that Sirius wouldn't see right through her. He seemed to buy it and dropped her hand. They then moved onto the topic of Quidditch, as the match against Hufflepuff would be in two month's time.

* * *

Fiendfyre was a bewitched flame of abnormal size and heat that could crumble fairly substantial objects to soot at a mere touch. The flames were infused with dark magic, capable of seeking out living targets despite being non-sentient. This curse is advanced dark magic, it is also very difficult to control the flames once they are unleashed. Left burning long enough, the fire will take the shapes of gigantic fiery beasts (including serpents, chimaeras, dragons, and birds of prey).

Trying to learn the Fiendfyre spell on her own would be deadly. It might be her only option however, as she couldn't think of anything else that would work. After a month of research, she came up with only a couple options.

"How's your Occlumency going?" Severus asked as they all met up again.

"She's accomplished the skill," informed Regulus, "however now we need to worry about the Horcrux."

"I've come up with a couple options to destroy it. One that you already know, is Fiendfyre," she said opening her book, "and another one that I've been considering is Basilisk venom."

"Absolutely not. That's extremely dangerous and how would we get the venom from the monster?" Severus asked almost angry that she had considered it. "Not to mention that Basilisk breeding has been banned and you'd have a nearly impossible time finding one."

"Goblin-wrought silver. It can absorb things stronger than the metal itself," she said holding up her hand with the ring on it, "did you think I wasn't going to do my research on this? If we can get a knife of some sort to absorb it we'd be able to destroy the horcrux with ease."

"Do you even realize how dangerous and difficult it'd be to even find a Basilisk?" Regulus asked frowning.

"And a Fiendfyre is a better option? Neither are good, Regulus. Personally, I'd rather take my chances with the Basilisk as there's a lesser risk of accidentally killing someone," she said matching his expression.

"And if we can't find the Basilisk?"

"Then we'll have to use Fiendfyre, but I don't think that the weilder would be able to make it out alive," she said, her voice going quiet near the end. The three of them sat in silence for a while as they thought over their options.

"I have information on the Dark Lord's horcruxes," stated Severus.

"Horcruxes?" Lilac asked hoping that she had heard wrong. Severus nodded gravely.

"He has more than one."

"How many?" Regulus questioned clenching his jaw.

"Five," he answered. Lilac sucked in a breath, realizing that it'd be a lot harder than she'd originally thought. Regulus took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, trying to keep his cool and stay calm.

"Do you know what some of them are?" Regulus asked once he had the information processed.

"One is a diary that is now in possession to Lucius Malfoy. Another is a goblet and the Gaunt ring," listed Severus.

"Makes sense, seeing as he's a Gaunt," mumbled Regulus nodding.

"And there's Salazar Slytherin's locket," added Severus.

"Then the goblet must be Helga Hufflepuff's goblet. Every horcrux he creates must be related to him in some way, correct? He used to go to Hogwarts so there must be another horcrux that has to do with Ravenclaw," reasoned Lilac frowning.

"The goblet is currently in the Lestrange vault," said Severus making Regulus sigh in frustration.

"I'll try to retrieve it," he said, "although I don't know how we'll get our hands on the others."

"Regulus, you're only a fourth year. I don't think you should be putting yourself in danger," said Lilac with a frown. He acted so much older that at times she forgot he was younger than her.

"Being a Black already puts me in the line of danger," he said rolling his eyes, "don't tell me what to do."

"Alright then," she sighed, "I'll get to work on locating a basilisk. Does anyone know where we can find more of this silver?"

Regulus and Severus grimaced and Lilac knew she wasn't going to like their answer. If it was as rare and valuable as they had said, they'd definitely have a hard time getting their hands on enough silver to create even a pin.

"I'll handle that too. I'll have to ask my cousin Bella as the Lestranges are the only ones rich enough to afford it," said Regulus frowning at the thought, "you better know what you're doing Evans."

"I know," she said, "this is the fate of the Wizarding World, not a charms project."

* * *

The one thing Lilac was always good at even when she thought she was a muggle years ago, was getting information. If she needed a piece of information she wouldn't stop until she got it. There were times where she'd spend nights reading or hours sweet-talking her way. Finding a basilisk took a lot of the latter. Kettleburn was a fairly easy person to sweet-talk as the man was quite daft. A few compliments later, and she knew the exact location of a basilisk.

The only problem was, it was locked up in one of the most heavily fortified places in the Wizarding World. Lilac was having trouble balancing all her work too, as they started learning how to apparate.

"We'll have to acquire the venom over the summer," said Regulus as they met once again before Easter break, "it might take longer than we expected, considering the basilisk being located in Romania."

"Guarded by dragons," reminded Severus frowning.

"I know," she sighed, "are you sure the both of you don't want to back out of this?"

"Asking that question for the sixth time won't change our answers," said Severus annoyed.

"Alright, alright, I just don't feel like being responsible of the death of two Slytherins. Although I heard that basilisks can kill you if you look at it in the eye, I might need some assistance."

"Charming."


	7. Chapter Seven

She could tell immediately that something was wrong when Sirius walked right past her without even a glance. He acted cold to her for the entire day and not even James knew what was wrong. It wasn't until after dinner that she managed to confront him.

"What's wrong?" Sirius scoffed. "I was curious about why you were disappearing off all the time, so I looked on the map. Do you know what I saw? I saw you with Snivellus Snape and my fucking brother."

"Yeah? And?" Lilac challenged. "Why are you so mad about that?"

"Maybe because you're fraternizing with Death Eaters!" Sirius yelled. There was no one around as they were out near the Black Lake.

"He's your brother!" Lilac exclaimed. "How could you think of your own brother like that?!"

"And how do you think of Lily?"

"Don't bring Lily into this! She has nothing to do with the conversation."

"And why not?"

"Sirius, why are you doing this?" Lilac asked scowling. His silver eyes flashed angrily.

"Aren't I your boyfriend? If I am, then why the hell do you spend more time with death eaters than me?" Sirius asked lowly.

"Alright, I'll spend more time with you!" Lilac exclaimed exasperated.

"Stop hanging around them," he demanded

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do," she said gritting her teeth.

"It's either me or them."

"Sirius Orion Black!" Lilac gasped, dumbfounded that he had actually forced her to make a choice. Sirius just glared at her, his mind clouded by his anger. "I can't chose the person who's trying to control me."

"Lilac—"

"Goodbye, Black," she said coldly as she walked away, ignoring the hurt look on his face. Her steps quickened until they turned into a sprint, running up the stairs and into the girls' dorms. Lily was shocked as she burst through the door and fell on her bed, sobbing.

"Lilac?" Lily asked cautiously. The two never had a friendly relationship and she wondered if she should be giving her twin some space. Marlene and Mary were watching from their respective beds.

"I'm fine," she said wiping her face with her sleeves, "I'm fine. I'm fine."

"No you're not," said Lily frowning, "what happened?"

"Nothing happened," said Lilac shaking her head, "just leave me alone."

Lily sighed and stopped pressing the issue. Lilac flicked her wand and her curtains shut closed. A few moments later she placed a muffling charm on the curtains so no one would be able to hear her cry.

Once it was well into the middle of the night Lilac stared at her ceiling, taking deep breaths. It was all her fault. She had been the one to neglect Sirius. She had been keeping secrets from him the entire time. Not once had she ever been honest to him about what she was up to. He had been the perfect boyfriend, surprisingly, and she had ruined it all.

* * *

The Lestrange family was one of the oldest pureblood families still in existence. Like many of the other pureblood families, they were drowning in their wealthy and had large vaults at Gringotts practically overflowing with money and jewels. Regulus was always Bellatrix's favorite cousin so it wasn't too difficult to get into her vault.

"What do you need all this money for?" Bellatrix asked as he gather up a couple galleons.

"I wanted to buy some goblin-wrought silver to make a gift," he said telling her half the truth.

"To who?" Bellatrix asked curiously.

"Perhaps one of the Greengrasses, we all know that it's easier to arrange a pureblood marriage if one of them is considerably rich," drawled Regulus playing on Bellatrix's ideas of blood purity.

"You're right, dear cousin," cackled Bellatrix, "just look at where I am now! I'm going to talk to the goblins, take what you need."

She walked out of the vault and Regulus quickly made a dash for it, looking for the goblet. Lilac had showed him a photo of Helga Hufflepuff's goblet and he just needed to find it. Eventually, he spotted it. It was tiny but easily recognizable with the badger engraved on it. He took out his wand and duplicated it before taking the original.

"Bella? I've gotten enough," said Regulus walking out of the vault. The goblet was safely hidden in his bag. His cousin gave him a maniacal grin and they made their way out of the Wizarding Bank.

"Regulus, the Dark Lord is still recruiting," said Bellatrix, "you turn of age in two year's time. He's not opposed to recruiting underaged students, however."

"How young? I'm only 15," he said trying to keep himself from panicking.

"Perhaps next year," she mused, "your family will be quite proud of you."

"Lovely."

* * *

Back at 12 Grimmauld Place, he noticed a letter from Severus on his desk. Opening it, he smelled the familiar scent of lilacs. She was smart, sending a letter from Severus so his mother wouldn't open them. The redhead hadn't been acting normal lately and neither Severus or Regulus could look into her mind and figure out why. It was quite ironic, having the skills he taught her being used against him.

Regulus, I've taken the liberty to go to Romania and see what we'll be facing. I'll update you when I can.

It wasn't signed but he knew it was Lilac. The handwriting was easily recognizable and the smell of lilacs was calming. Clenching his jaw in annoyance, he wrote a letter back to her and informed Severus with another letter. Just as he was sending the letters, there was a searing burn on his shoulder. He let out a cry of agony and crumpled to the ground, holding his shoulder.

"Reg," said Severus's voice as he helped him up.

"You got here awfully quick," grit out Regulus.

"I was already on my way over. Lilac send me a letter too," he said frowning, "she's going to get herself killed. How bad is it?"

"It would've been a lot worse if she didn't wear the ring. I hope she was smart and went home," responded Regulus pulling off his shirt. There was an ugly burn on his shoulder and Severus immediately started healing him.

"For the brightest witch of our generation she is quite idiotic," snapped Severus annoyed. The burn marks didn't look too bad but Severus wanted to apparate over to the Evans' household and find Lilac. She was definitely in a lot of pain at the moment and he hoped that she had apparated out of Romania.

"Idiotic is a lighter way of putting it," grumbled Regulus.

"Do you think your brother knows?"

"He took the ring off a long time ago."

"Give it to me," said Severus holding out his hand. Regulus bent down and undid the silver bracelet that had been on his ankle. It was his mother's. He had stolen it a few years ago and ever returned it.

"Are you sure?" Regulus asked frowning.

"We'll take turns," said Severus putting it on his own ankle, "do you think she'll figure it out?"

"Not if we don't make it too obvious," answered Regulus, "if only my dear brother would put his ring back on, the bastard. Do you suppose she's staying with the Potters or her family at the moment?"

"The Potters," said Severus after a moment of thought, "there's no way I'll be able to get past the Potter Manor wards. It's as heavily guarded as the Malfoy Manor. They'll be alerted of my presence before I even get past the front gate."

"At least my brother is there to keep her safe," sighed Regulus, "if only he knew what she was planning. The girl is going to get herself killed."

"She's two years older than you. The only one who might die is you," deadpanned Severus giving him a stern look, "the Dark Lord is getting interested in the Slytherin students of Hogwarts."

"I know," said Regulus bitterly, "my cousin Bella told me. There's no avoiding it, however. You know that better than anyone."

"You can always run to your brother for safety."

"Not a chance. The Potters aren't very fond of me," scoffed Regulus, "I'd rather take my chances with the Dark Lord right now. You know James Potter would hex me to death before I even get to state my case."

"Then you must do whatever I tell you," said Severus quietly, "if you make even a single mistake or lower your guards for even a second, it will all crumbled to the ground and you, I, and Lilac will all be killed."

* * *

"What the hell?" James yelled when she apparated into the manor, bleeding. She had managed to put some dittany on her shoulder and bandage it up but she was still not completely healed when she got back.

"Shut up James," she grumbled going to her room. Lilac passed by Sirius on the way there and he tried to talk to her.

"Lilac—"

"I don't even want to look at you," she spat. It was harsh, but her heart was suffering as she tried to get over him. Sirius trying to talk to her before she was ready to talk only made it harder. Remus, Peter, and James seemed to get that they were in an argument and decided that it'd be better not to question it.

Once back in her room, she undid her bandages and redid them properly. The pain subsided after a couple potions and she wrote letters to Regulus and Severus, telling them about what was in Romania. There were two Romanian Longhorns and the basilisk was located in a large cavern about a 50ft drop down. Getting in and out would be more difficult than winning a duel against Dumbledore.

"Are you ok?" Peter asked nervously opening the door to her room. They had obviously sent Peter because they knew Lilac could never stay mad at him for long. He was sensitive and she had gotten used to being kinder to him.

"I'm alright," she said with a sigh, "tell James that I'm fine and not to worry. I'll be out in a minute."

Peter nodded and he gently closed the door behind him. After she was sure that the bleeding had stopped she walked out of her room and came face to face with all four Marauders.

"Let us see it," demanded James pulling at her shirt.

"Stop it!" Lilac exclaimed slapping his hand away. "I just got in a small accident while on a walk. Can't you guys just leave me the fuck alone?!"

"Can't you see we're worried for you?" James yelled back. "You're skipping meals, locking yourself up in your room, you have panic attacks, mental breakdowns, and you stop talking to us at random times! What's going on, Lilac?"

"I'm sorry," said Lilac, her shoulders slumping. James had every right to be furious with her. "I'm sorry. I'm just… stressed about school, and the war. If something happens to my family, it's my fault."

"You didn't ask to be born a witch," said Remus pulling her into a hug, "no one would want to be in the situation you are in right now. We understand if it gets too much for you but you still need to eat and take care of your health."

"Let's go play a game of Exploding Snap?" Peter suggested. They all nodded and made their way to the living room. She noticed Sirius reach into his pocket and slip on a silver ring identical to hers. Their eyes made contact and he gave her an angry glare.

"Do you know who attacked you? You can file a complaint to the Ministry," said Remus getting the cards out.

"It's alright. They got what they deserved," she said with a small smile.

"Atta girl," said James ruffling her red hair. Her eyes went to Sirius but shot back to James when she found them staring at her intently. She knew he was still angry as his jaw was clenched and he was unusually silent.

Back at Hogwarts she got a scolding from Severus and Regulus. She wasn't too surprised as she knew they were going to get angry at her for being so reckless. They now knew some very important information however, and it was going to be extremely useful now that they were planning their mission.

"The basilisk will only kill you if you look it in the eyes," said Severus looking at all the information they collected on the beast.

"Simple, we blind it," said Regulus with a shrug, "how is the question."

"We can do a Perseus," suggested Lilac before she was met by confused looks, "like the Greek myth? Right, purebloods. Perseus was a greek hero who slayed Medusa. Medusa was a woman with snakes for hair and if you look at her you'd be turned to stone. He killed her by looking at her reflection through his shield."

"Interesting. The basilisk will petrify you too, but if you look at it's reflection," said Regulus with a slow nod.

"It's shadow then?" Lilac asked biting her lip. "If we can be silent enough we can surprise it and use the shock as our moment to blind the thing."

"And after that? How will we get the venom? Will we kill it?" Severus asked frowning.

"A beast like that shouldn't even be alive," said Regulus gravely. Lilac frowned and bit her lip. She was very against animal cruelty but they had no other choice. It wasn't as if they could just as the basilisk to kindly open its mouth and have it allow them to prick it.

"I have to go," she said looking at the dusty clock which hung from one of the walls, "my arithmancy class starts in a few minutes."

"Alright then," said Severus nodding. She left the room onto to run into Sirius. He was waiting for her outside the classroom. Immediately, he grabbed her bags and books, walking her to class.

"Lilac, we need to talk," he said, "about what happened before break, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you choose."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly.

"Please, come back to me?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"No, you deserve so much more," she said shaking her head, "I haven't been completely honest with you and you shouldn't have to get lied to. Sure you're a total asshole but I can't give you what you want."

"I want you," he said grabbing her waist.

"You may want me, but I'm not what you need," she said taking her books and her bad before walking off. Sirius ran after her but she ran into her classroom and shut the door on him. It took all her will to not cry in front of the class. Maybe after the war was all over, if he didn't fall in love with someone better, and she was still alive, they could get back together. Right now however, it was too dangerous for her to be close to someone.

After arithmancy she went to the Headmaster's office, as she had been summoned by a professor in the middle of her class. There was no way she'd done something wrong, she'd been very careful in her prefect duties and her school studies.

"Professor," she greeted walking into the office.

"Ah, Miss Evans. I don't suppose you know why you're here?" Dumbledore asked putting his quill down. Judging by the grave expression on his face it couldn't be anything good. Anxiety raced through her.

"No professor."

"Over the years I've been teaching here, and through my own experiences, I've learned to keep my ears open. One of the things I've heard is that you have an old book on dark magic," he said lowly.

"H-How?" Lilac asked panicking. If Dumbledore knew, who else did? More importantly, who told him.

"I know everything that happens in this school. Don't worry, no one else knows. You've also been meeting up with Severus Snape and Regulus Black. Seeing as you've been reading a book on dark magic and have been associating with those sorts of people, you could see why I'd be… concerned."

"I'm not a Death Eater, if that's what you're thinking," said Lilac shaking her head, "it's more the opposite."

"Do tell."

"The Dark Lord, he created five horcruxes," said Lilac seeing the shock form on the old man's face.

"Five? Good Godric, how do you know this?" Dumbledore questioned getting up. Lilac bit her lip, unsure if she should tell the headmaster of Severus's current predicament.

"I'm not sure if it's my place to tell," she said quietly.

"You do understand that I cannot allow my students to get injured. In order to help you, I need to know how you know this and what else you know."

"I found this book at Tomes and Scrolls," said Lilac taking out the dusty leather-bound book. He flipped through the pages, frowning at the mess of runes and letters swimming around the page.

"Miss Evans, if you will," he said holding out the book.

"Oh, right," she said, taking her wand and tapping the cover of the book twice. All the runes and letters settled into their places.

"Miss Evans," he said in wonder, "you have found the journal of Herpo the Foul. Has anyone else read the journal other than you?"

"I'm not sure but I do know that no one's read this after I bought it."

"Very good. We cannot have it fall into the wrong hands. I must say, this charm work is quite impressive," complimented Dumbledore as he watched all the words shift. "How much time did you spend deciphering it out of runes and Ancient Greek?"

"Months," she admitted, "although I didn't find out about the six horcruxes until recently."

"Do you know what each of the five are?"

"There's Helga Hufflepuff's goblet, Salazar Slytherin's locket, the Gaunt family ring, Tom Riddle's diary, and something from Ravenclaw."

"The Gaunt ring?" Dumbledore questioned seemingly intrigued. "How do you have plan on destroying them? I doubt you'd gather this much information without looking into how to destroy them."

"Basilisk venom," she said quietly. He paused and stared at her.

"Miss Evans, that is incredibly risky. Where would you find a Basilisk in the first place? Who is accompanying you?"

"Severus and Regulus."

"Regulus is a fourth year," he said with a sigh. A few moments later he walked over to a little bird cage and whistled. There was a burst of flames and a beautiful Phoenix appeared. "This is Fawks, he shall accompany you. The sorting hat should be brought along as it's one of Goodrich Gryffindor's artifacts. Perhaps I should go along."

"With all due respect, Professor, we'll be flying down to the cavern by broom," she said taking her book back.

"I don't feel all that comfortable sending three students off by themselves. Perhaps someone from the Order. A Prewett could accompany you three," he said pacing around his office.

"Fabian and Gideon?" Lilac asked remembering the two ginger twins. They were two years older than her and had graduated the year before.

"Gideon would be the best choice. When are you planning to get the Basilisk venom?" Dumbledore asked. "Perhaps we should all have a meeting before school ends to plan this all out."

"Yes, we're planning to do this during the summer," said Lilac with a nod.

"Alright then, dinner should be starting soon," said Dumbledore.

"Right, yes. Thank you," she said before walking out. As she walked to the Great Hall, she noticed a copy of the Daily Prophet on the ground.

Eight muggle families have been murdered in Holvan, The Middlands, England.

Her heartbeat sped up and she crouched down, feeling a sudden inability to breath. Fear washed over her in cold relentless waves and she shut her eyes. Holvan was the town next to Cokesworth, where she and her family live. Two arms wrapped around her and the smell of cologne enveloped her.

"It's alright, Lilac," soothed Sirius as he held her in his arms. Truthfully, he had been following her around the entire day and even though he couldn't hear the conversations she was having, he knew that something dangerous was happening.

"Tuney, do you think Tuney's ok?" Lilac asked clutching onto his shirt. She didn't care that she wasn't supposed to be clinging to him, at the moment she was utterly terrified and wanted to know if her family was alright.

"She's fine, we'll write to her, alright?" Sirius asked observing her expression. After Lilac finally calmed down, she realized how wrong it was to be holding onto Sirius in such a way now that they weren't together anymore.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" she let go of his shirt and stood up, brushing dust off her skirt and fixing her hair.

"It's alright," he said firmly, "you can come to me. I don't know what you're doing with my brother and Snivellus, but if Dumbledore knows about it then I won't push you. The Headmaster's powerful."

"This won't change anything, Sirius. I wasn't joking when I said that you deserve someone better," she said frowning. A hand cupped her cheek and he gave her a soft gaze. Behind his comforting expression was a hungry fire.

"No one is better than you, Lilac. I'm going to wait for you," he said with a slight warning in his voice. Lilac swallowed and pulled away from him, hugging her book closer to her chest as she tried to calm herself down. Sirius obviously knew what an effect he had on her and smirked as he followed after her.

"Where's Peter, Remus, and James?" Lilac asked once she felt comfortable enough to have a conversation with him.

"They're helping Prongs out on the Quidditch pitch. Our match against Hufflepuff is coming up soon," said Sirius stuffing his hands in his pockets casually.

"Then why aren't you helping? You're a beater," she said frowning.

"They're helping him impress Lily Evans," corrected Sirius giving her a pointed look. Lilac scoffed and rolled her eyes. She should've known that was what they were up to. She couldn't understand why James couldn't just find someone who could actually appreciate him.

"Lily doesn't like Quidditch," she said disapprovingly, "she likes someone responsible and smart."

"You never know. I thought I liked someone blonde who was crazy in bed," he said lazily, "but I ended up liking you instead. Although we haven't experienced much in the bedroom department now, have we?"

"I'm leaving," she said as she rushed ahead of him. Bark-like laughter followed her.

* * *

Sirius wasn't happy about it but Lilac ended up wearing James's Quidditch jersey the day of the game against the Hufflepuffs. Things between Sirius and her weren't as awkward anymore but they weren't as friendly as they were before.

Standing in the Quidditch stands with all the Quidditch fans, she felt the happiest she had felt since Christmas. Without realizing it, she had poured all her time into figuring out plans for Horcruxes and hadn't had time to have fun. She didn't remember pulling any pranks with the Marauders. During the full moons, Lilac was always focusing on Remus and defeating the Dark Lord at the same time, which made it more difficult.

"Tonight, we're partying," informed James giving her a pointed look, "you're not going back up those stairs just to study. It's about time you had some fun and hung out with us. You're thinner than my broomstick at this point."

"Prongs is right," agreed Peter nodding.

"Alright. I guess I could take a break," she said with a smile. They were very serious about having her attend the party. None of them left her alone incase she tried to sneak off again. James even forced her to drink a shot of firewhisky to get her into the partying mood. It wasn't as if a few hours of relaxation was bad. She couldn't help feeling guilty however. There were people dying out there and she was just partying.

"I know that look," said Sirius walking over, "you're overthinking."

"Am I?" Lilac asked snapping out of her thoughts. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. Some people moved out of the way for them as he practically bulldozed his way through.

"This is what you did last time, right?" Sirius questioned, as he placed his hands on her hips. Lilac giggled and nodded, feeling herself blush involuntarily. The firewhisky must've been getting to her as she started dancing in a very sultry way. She wasn't being brash enough to make herself seem like a prostitute but was being subtle, like her nickname Vixen.

"We shouldn't do this," she finally said, gaining control of her thoughts and pushing him away lightly. Sirius looked disappointed but nodded after a moment. "I'm… I'm going to go find my sister."

She quickly rushed through the crowd, hoping to get farther away from Sirius. If she stayed any longer, she'd give in. Sirius would only be in danger, being with her. Lilac wanted to hug him and kiss him and stay in the safety of his arms, oblivious to the turmoil outside of the castle walls.

"Lils!" James yelled, making his way over to her. "Have another drink!"

"I'd rather not," she declined. James frowned and drank the glass he held before going off to find Lily. Parties were usually fun, especially since she was usually one of the main people hosting them. Now, all she wanted was to go up to the dorm and sleep.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Peter asked appearing by her side.

"I'm tired," she admitted, "and I feel sick. Maybe it was a mistake, coming to the party. I don't want to hurt James and Sirius's feelings though."

As if she hadn't hurt Sirius enough.

"Come on, I have some Pepper-Up potion upstairs. You can take some and go to sleep early," he said placing a hand on the back of her navel and gently guiding her up the stairs. As she reached the top, she looked back over her shoulder to see Sirius watching her with a sad and dejected expression.

"Thanks Pete," she said taking the potion from him once he got it out of his trunk. She sat on James's bed and pulled out her book. The empty pages in the back were handy as she started taking down her notes in them. Peter noticed and sat down on the edge of the bed near her.

"What's in that book? You're always reading it and no one else can read it," he said curiously.

"It's a private journal," she lied, not looking up from her work.

"Do you write about us? Me, James, Sirius, and Remus?"

Lilac paused and looked up at Peter who gave her an expectant look. His cheeks were flushed but his eyes were waiting for her answer.

"Of course," she found herself saying. Peter nodded and left the dorm room. Instead of going back to her reading, she put her quill down and leaned against the headrest of James's bed. The entire time, she had been trying to find the horcruxes solely just to end the war and defeat Voldemort. Feeling a bit shameful, she opened her book again and wondered what she'd do.

There was absolutely no way she was telling the boys what she was going to be up to. It was far too dangerous and she wanted them to be able to live happily. She wanted Lily and James to end up together, for Remus to not be afraid of hiding the fact that he was a werewolf, and for Peter to find someone who would treat him right. Sirius… if she could defeat Voldemort then maybe she and Sirius could try again. The door opened and Remus walked in bleary eyed and flushed.

"Drink too much?" Lilac asked softly. Remus nodded and fell onto his bed. Putting her book on the nightstand, she pulled the covers over her head and tried to fall asleep. Much to her annoyance, James decided to enter singing his head off as loud as possible.

"Why did you leave?" James whined drunkenly. He fell onto the bed next to her and pulled her close to his chest. Her eyebrows raised and she pushed him away. They never held each other when they slept. Sometimes she'd sleep on his arm but that was about it.

"James, you're drunk," she deadpanned. He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes. Of course he'd take that as a compliment. She turned around so she wouldn't smell the firewhisky and went to seep.

* * *

During Easter break, James was incredibly disappointed to learn that she would not be joining the Potters for the holidays. He had begged her, pleaded her, attempted to drag her with him, but she had been adamant. He wanted to stay at Hogwarts with her but she had been so sudden in announcing her plans just before break started that James wasn't able to stay. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were also surprised and worried.

"Are you sure you'll be fine here by yourself?" James asked for the hundredth time.

"Honestly, Prongs, you worry about me more than my own mother," she scoffed. James cracked a smile and hugged her.

"We'll send you Easter eggs," he promised, "although Moony might eat the chocolates inside them first."

"You better not," she warned, sending the werewolf a look. Remus laughed and nodded. They went onto the train and Lilac watched them all leave, her sister among them. The Hogwarts castle would be emptier than usual but it wasn't as if she'd be staying there very long. Once back inside, she headed over to the Headmaster's office.

"Miss Evans, please, sit," said Dumbledore, "you remember Gideon Prewett?"

"Of course," she said sitting down next to the ginger. He was very tall and had red hair and blue eyes, a Prewett and Weasley trademark. There was a mole on the left side of his chin which was the easiest way you would tell the difference between him and his brother Fabian. Regulus and Severus sat on the couches across from them.

"It's been a while, Evans," said Gideon with a smirk, "you've grown taller and prettier."

"Oh shut it," she said with a laugh, "you're still as hideous as ever."

"Merlin, you'd think she'd compliment me back. How cold of you," he shot back mockingly. Regulus and Severus watched the exchange curiously but didn't say anything. So far the Prewett twin had treated them with indifference.

"I'd hate to interrupt, but we have a conflict on hands," said Dumbledore. They all fell silent and looked at the old man. "I will work on retrieving the Gaunt ring as I have an idea where it could possibly be. Regulus Black is only fifteen, instead of going off to Romania I propose he go with me."

"I'd like to go with Evans," said Regulus quickly. Lilac recognized the expression Regulus had on his face immediately. She had seen it a couple times on first and second year Sirius many years ago. He was nervous, and out of his comfort zone. Lilac and Severus were the only people in the room he was comfortable with.

"Reggie, I think you should go with Dumbledore," she said quietly, "it's the safest option as your mother would murder me if she finds out you were with me. Especially if you got injured or worse."

"She's right," said Gideon nodding, "as much as it'd be intriguing to fight with Slytherins and not against them, you're only fifteen and I can only watch over so many kids. Your mother is a prominent figure in the pureblood world so all eyes are on you and your brother."

"Fine," sighed Regulus frowning. Dumbledore nodded and stood up, raising his hand. Three brooms flew over and one landed in Lilac's lap. Gideon was given a broom, along with Severus.

"How are your flying skills?" Gideon questioned.

"Adequate," she answered biting her lip, "not the best but we have no other option."

"We'll have to teach the three of you how to defend yourselves," said Dumbledore taking out his wand.

"I can defend myself perfectly fine," mumbled Severus setting the broom on the floor by his feet. Lilac could tell he had a great disdain for flying. As long as he could fly a broom decently they should be alright.

"You never know, we'll work on our dueling over this break," said Gideon standing up, "have the three of you created any plans on how we'll retrieve the Basilisk venom? It won't be easy."

"We'll use a dagger made of Goblin-wrought silver," she said much to the surprise of Dumbledore and Gideon.

"That's incredibly rare and expensive," said Gideon unsure. Regulus stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a shiny silver dagger. Lilac gasped and everyone's eyebrows raised considerably high. Just above the hilt on the silver, Black was engraved in her handwriting.

"I had it made over Christmas Break," he said with a shrug. He handed it to Severus who turned it over in his hand multiple times, examining the weapon. Severus then passed it over the table in the middle to Lilac.

"And the goblet?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Safely hidden in my trunk," answered the boy, "will the Dark Lord notice it if we destroy a horcrux? It's a part of his soul after all."

"He's been without parts of his soul for so long that I doubt he'd notice," answered their Headmaster thoughtfully, "has the book said anything about it?"

"He's only ever created one horcrux and it was never recorded whether or not it had ever been destroyed. I don't think he will feel it either. You can't feel something that you no longer have, right?" Lilac asked thinking logically. Dumbledore smiled at her.

"I suppose not."


	8. Chapter Eight

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Sweat trickled down the side of her temple and her forehead as she ran laps around the Quidditch pitch. Lilac was never an athletic person. While James and Sirius played Quidditch daily, Remus seemed to keep himself in shape during the full moons and Peter was used to running around the school following them. Meanwhile, she was the person who normally stand in the stands with a book in her hands.

"A couple more laps!" Gideon called from the Gryffindor stands. She sent him a murderous glare and tried to control her breathing. Severus was struggling to run but was doing much better than she had expected.

"I'm exhausted," painted Lilac placing her hands on her thighs and catching her breath. Gideon climbed out of the stands and landed on the ground smoothly. He had obviously used a spell as a fall from that height would've injure someone. He jogged over and handed her bottle of water.

"You're doing much better than a couple days ago. Come on, I'll run with you," he said as they started jogging again. "How are you doing in school? Still running around with Potter and Black?"

"I've been focusing on the search," she admitted, "but I've had my fair share of drama."

"Oh? So you had a falling out with one of the four boys?" Gideon asked glancing at her face.

"Sirius," she said quietly.

"Do you want me to hex him to Azkaban?" Gideon offered with a smirk. Lilac rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"No. It was mostly my fault. I was so focused on my work that I didn't notice that I was pushing them away. He confronted me about it and we had an argument," she explained with a sigh. "I don't think its a good idea to be too close with them at the moment. I don't want them to worry about the war yet and I don't want them to get hurt."

"They can make their own decisions, Lilac," said Gideon softly, "but I understand why you don't want to tell them. Fabian and I have been working a lot more and neither of us want to tell Molly. She's so happy at the moment with Arthur, Bill, Charlie, and Percy. I don't want to ruin it."

"How are they?"

"They're trying for a girl. Fabian and I can't wait," said Gideon grinning. "Maybe she'll make you the Godmother this time, she really took a liking to you during Bill's fifth birthday."

"She thought we were together," said Lilac with a giggle, "I thought that Molly was going to murder you for not telling her we were together."

"We aren't," he said amused.

"Exactly."

They stopped running when they circled around the pitch two more times. Severus was now running with Regulus and he seemed to be struggling. Lilac wondered if that was what she had looked like a couple days ago.

"I think that's enough for this morning. Let's go in for breakfast," said Gideon pinching her arm, "this is all bone. Haven't you been eating? Honestly, Molly will kill me if she sees you this thin."

"Leave me alone," she scoffed, "you sound like Euphemia Potter."

"After breakfast I'm supposed to help Professor Slughorn," informed Severus through pants. It was an obvious struggle for him to finish the last lap around the Quidditch Pitch. All their legs felt heavy like lead.

"Alright then, we'll practice duelling after lunch," said Gideon nodding, "we'll go to Hogsmeade while you Slytherins go slithering through the dungeons."

"Even when you've graduated you're still on about the house rivalries," sighed Lilac shaking her head. Gideon grinned and they walked to the Great Hall. Students were a bit confused by Gideon's appearance at first but now they paid no mind to it. The student population at Hogwarts was already extremely small so they only had one table for all the teachers and students staying.

"I'm taking Lilac to Hogsmeade," announced Gideon once they were done with breakfast. They looked at Dumbledore for approval.

"Alright," he said nodding, "be sure to get back before dinner or the gates will be closed. Although, I doubt Miss Evans would have too much trouble getting back into the school either way."

Her cheeks flushed and she wondered just how much the old man knew. If he knew that she and the Marauders had been using the secret passageways, is there a chance he'd know about the Marauder's Map and James's invisibility cloak?

"What did he mean?" Gideon asked as they walked out of Hogwarts.

"Nothing you should be concerned about," she said with a sheepish laugh.

"I'm intrigued," he admitted. Lilac shook her head and he shrugged, dropping the topic. At Hogsmeade, they went to Tomes and Scrolls first. It was a tradition as Lilac loved to read. Gideon would never admit it, but he fancied a good action novel.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks for lunch before we go back," said Lilac as they walked out of the bookstore. She was holding four new books and Gideon was hiding the one he got.

"Alright then. Let's go to the hairdressing salon, it's getting quite long," he said looking her over. The salon was located across the street from Honeydukes and she knew he'd probably wander over there while her hair was being cut.

"Ah, it's been a while, Gideon!" exclaimed a man with pink hair. He dropped the bottles of shampoo he was holding and walked over with his arms outstretched to hug him. Gideon chuckled and gave the man a light hug. The man turned to her with excitement etched into his face. "Who is this? Your girlfriend?"

"No, she's a close friend. She's in her sixth year at Hogwarts," said Gideon shaking his head, "Lilac, this is Caplum Vitinte. Cap, this is Lilac Evans."

"Nice to meet you," she said holding out her hand politely. Instead of shaking her hand, he pulled her into a light hug, kissing both her cheeks. Mildly alarmed, her eyebrows flew up and she glanced at Gideon who was stifling his laughter.

"You are gorgeous, love! And your name is beautiful, lilac would suit your hair well. And these curls, sit, sit!" Caplum exclaimed pulling out one of the hot pink chairs. The salon was as pink as Madam Puddifoot's but it had a more professional clean feel to it.

"Lilac hair?" Gideon asked considering it. "Her skin is definitely fair enough to pull it off."

"Perhaps another time? I think lilac is too noticable and that's not exactly what I'm going for," she said with a small smile, "although I do really like that idea. Maybe the tips of my hair could get dyed."

"Alright then. How about a long bob with a blonde balayage? It would work quite well for you as it'll frame your face well. Your hair is so beautiful," sighed Caplum as he fawned over the long wavy red locks.

"I bet Black will miss your long red hair," snickered Gideon as Caplum set off to his work. The pink haired man gasped dramatically.

"Is that her boyfriend?"

"No!"

"But you want him to be," teased Gideon. Lilac glared at him murderously while the hairstylist squealed.

"No worries love! I'll make it so he can't take his eyes off of your beauty," he promised as he got out the scissors. Gideon watched Caplum cut her hair for a few minutes before he began to get bored.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," he said with a wave.

"So, how did you meet Gideon?" Caplum asked casually once the ginger had left.

"He got water on my transfiguration homework and I hexed him. We ended up in detention together for a month," she said beginning to feel comfortable in the chair. He obviously knew what he was doing.

"You hexed him? And he didn't fight back?"

"He did, we got detention for duelling in the Great Hall."

"And the two of you have never been romantically interested in each other? I would expect Giddy to fall heads-over-heels over a bird like you," he said fluffing up her hair playfully. Half of her hair now landed on the top of her shoulder while the other fell just above her waist. It looked odd and comical.

"I tend to make people look at me like a sibling. My friend James Potter treats me like I'm his little sister. His parents even gave me a room in the manor," she said with a small chuckle, "from the beginning Gideon seemed to think of me as nothing more than a friend."

"And I assume you like Sirius Black? Not one of the others?"

"Yes. He's been my best friend since the train ride on the first day of school."

"Disowned, isn't he? You're a nice bird, I don't want to see you getting put in danger," he said with a frown, "not that Black isn't a capable boy. His family however, they're a bit deranged after generations of inbreeding."

"His brother Regulus isn't all too bad either. It's their parents that are horrible," she said biting her lip, "sometimes I wish they could just stay at Hogwarts all year long. Going home to such darkness must be horrible."

"And with the upcoming war, things must be getting worse," agreed Caplum as he started getting the dye out. She looked at the mirror and admired her short hair. It framed her face perfectly and she found herself liking it more than her long hair.

"Are you fighting in the war?"

"No," he said with a chuckle, "I'm not a fighter. I'd get myself killed just picking up my wand. I would love to help out but I'm not suited for the battlefield. The Ministry doesn't even know who they're fighting. Sure, you could say it's You-Know-Who and his army of Death Eaters, but who are the Death Eaters? Which ones are under the Imperius Curse? How many of them are there? Where are they hiding? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named even defeatable? There are rumors that he's attained immortality."

"Immortality," repeated Lilac feeling her stomach toss. It was exactly what she was trying to prevent. If she couldn't find the Horcruxes and destroy them then there was no way they were going to win the war. "Well the aurors are working on it, right? Gideon and Fabian have been working endlessly."

"Some of the aurors are Death Eaters," said Caplum lowly, "even Harold Minchum, the Minister, is having trouble figuring out how many Death Eaters there are in the Ministry. It could be completely overrun and we wouldn't know it."

Lilac swallowed hard and sat quietly in the seat. There was absolutely no way she could take the information she learned about the Horcruxes to the Ministry. Dumbledore was definitely smart enough to know not to trust the Ministry.

"If the Ministry is corrupted then who's fighting?"

"The people who still haven't lost hope," said Caplum giving her a strong look, "the people who can still remember the good times where they could walked down the streets freely and laugh with their friends. No matter what happens to you, never ever fall into the darkness, Lilac."

"I wanted to be an auror after I graduated, but now I'm not sure," she said looking down at her hands. Caplum put the hair dye in and then started cleaning up the colorful mess he created.

"Being an auror isn't bad," he said, "it's just not the right time. There are lots of different opportunities and choices out there. My sister is a potioneer who would love an apprentice. How good are you at potions?"

"I'm top of the class, along with my partner Severus Snape," she answered, "you have a sister?"

"Yes. Ophelia Kerrigan. I'll mention you to her tonight. Alright, the hair dye will take a while to set in, even with my magic. I'll check on you in a minute."

He then went to work on another client who had walked in during the hair dye process. She decided to busy herself with one of the books she had bought during her visit to Tomes and Scrolls. A few chapters in and Caplum came back to wash her hair. With a flick of his wand, her hair was dried and fell into it's normal loose waves. Her red hair now turned a gradual blonde, ending just at her shoulders.

"I'm back!" Gideon's voice boomed. "Godric! Is that really you, Lilac?"

"Doesn't she look stunning?" Caplum cried as he grabbed a pink bag out of Gideon's hands and going through it. Gideon must bring Caplum things from Honeydukes often as Gideon wasn't even fazed.

"That style fits you perfectly. Black is going to go out of his mind," chuckled Gideon, "thanks, Cap."

"No problem at all, Giddy! Come back again, Lilac. We'll dye your hair lilac next time," said the overly happy hairstylist. He was looking at the candy like a little kid finding presents under the Christmas tree.

"I will," she said placing five galleons on his table before following Gideon out. They headed to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. The ginger handed her a brown bag from Gladrag's Wizardwear.

"They're shoes. If we're going to battle basilisks you can't exactly do that in those inconvenient flats of yours," he explained, "there's also a jacket charmed with fire-resistance in case. The place _is_ guarded with dragons."

"Thanks, _Giddy_ ," said Lilac teasingly. Gideon rolled his eyes and ruffled her newly cut hair. It was a strange sensation as her hair was easier to mess up now that it was shorter. She glared at him and fixed her hair.

"I wonder if Madam Rosmerta still hates me for breaking that table," mused Gideon as they pushed the door open.

"Read the sign, Prewett!" came Rosmerta's shout. Gideon looked around before spotting a bright yellow sign next to the door.

 _Those with the name Gideon Andien Prewett are strictly forbidden from entering the pub. If said person is even loitering about outside, they will be thrown into a pit of fire._

"Aw come on!" Gideon groaned.

"Just once, Rosie?" Lilac pleaded hopefully. The blonde woman turned around and dropped the glass she was holding at the sight of her. More specifically, the sight of her hair. She rushed over to examine it closer.

"Your hair! It's so pretty!" Rosmerta exclaimed wide-eyed. "Was this Prewett's doing?"

"It was his idea to go to the salon," said Lilac with a nod. The style wasn't exactly his idea but it if could get him into Rosmerta's good books she'd bend the truth a little bit. The blonde woman scrutinized Gideon before sighing.

"Just this once, Prewett," she said going back behind the counter, "the usual?"

"Yep," approved Lilac. Rosmerta went to the kitchen to get started on their order and the other two went to find a table. When they sat down, Lilac gave him a knowing look and wiggled her eyebrows.

"What?" Gideon asked frowning.

"You and Rosmerta have always been a nice pairing," she said with a shrug. Gideon gave her a horrified look but his cheeks and ears turned bright red. Lilac burst into laughter at his expression.

"There is nothing between us," denied Gideon glaring at her. Lilac just shrugged and sat there with a more than amused face. Rosmerta then walked out of the kitchen holding two platters of food.

"Gideon, have you ever seen Rosie dance?" Lilac asked casually as Rosmerta set their food down on the table. The ginger choked on his water and she cackled. Rosmerta smacked her over the head with her wand before taking some more orders.

"I'm never taking you to Hogsmeade again," he said glowering.

"You always say that," she said rolling her eyes, "but we always go to Hogsmeade together."

"Just wait until you get out of Hogwarts, I'll take you to every Wizarding Village there is," he promised. They talked a lot about his job as an auror and their Hogwarts years. If Fabian was there with them it would've been a lot more interesting.

"What's the Order?" Lilac asked as they started walking back to Hogwarts.

"How do you know about the Order? Did Dumbledore tell you?" Gideon asked surprised.

"No. He mentioned it."

"It's an organization formed by Dumbledore to fight against the Death Eaters. It's supposed to be a secret," he said, "but they're not recruiting students so don't even think about trying to join."

"What about Molly? Is she a part of it?"

"No. She needs to take care of the kids," said Gideon shaking her head, "you should see them. Little Charlie misses his Aunt Lilac. I bet Arthur wants to know all about the muggle inventions you use at home."

"I miss the Weasleys too," she said with a small laugh. Severus and Regulus were waiting for them in the abandoned classroom they always met at. They were shocked by her new hairstyle.

"Alright, let's work on the spells we were talking about yesterday," said Gideon rolling up his sleeves. They all drew their wands and listened intently to Gideon speak. He was a better teacher than their current DADA professor. They were even able to learn a couple non-verbal spells, which had only been talked about during DADA.

"Corpus gelida!" Lilac yelled pointing at a moving dummy. It froze in place and Gideon raised his eyebrows. "Reducto!"

It shattered into pieces and Gideon clapped approvingly. They still had a long way to go as duelling was difficult. Severus and Gideon were paired up while Lilac was paired up with Regulus. Standing before each other, they tensed.

"Stupefy!" Regulus yelled. Lilac snapped her wand up and the spell was blocked. She shot a non-verbal at him and they danced back and forth. He was good a duelling, just like his older brother. Duelling was just as tiring as running laps around the Quidditch Pitch.

* * *

When Easter break came to an end, Lilac, Severus, and Regulus were broken into shape and knew a good variety of spells. They had promised Gideon to run every morning and the ginger even had Dumbledore make sure they followed through.

"I'm going to miss you," said Lilac hugging Gideon as they stood on the train station platform. Students flooded onto the platform as they all returned back from their homes. The boys were most likely looking for her.

"You'll see me in a couple months," he said ruffling her hair.

"Prewett! What are you doing here?" came James's familiar voice. Lilac turned around and snickered at the Marauders' dumbstruck expressions. James's hazel eyes were the widest as he stared at her. His mouth opened but closed and then opened again.

"Hey James," she said with a giggle.

"Holy shit," murmured Sirius. Gideon nudged her on the arm and she turned around to look at him. He pressed a kiss on her forehead before getting his trunk and heading towards the train.

"I'll see you over the summer!" Gideon called with a wave.

"Bye!" Lilac exclaimed waving back. Once Gideon boarded the train, they made their way back to the castle. People freaked out over her hair and she received many compliments from people.

"So you were spending your break with Prewett?" Sirius asked quietly. His eyes wouldn't look at her and Lilac furrowed her eyebrows at his strange behavior. James, Remus, and Peter seemed to know what was going on with Sirius and kept quiet.

"Yeah?"

"Did you have fun?" Sirius asked bitterly. "No wonder we call you Vixen. Were you snogging him, too?"

"What the fuck?" Lilac asked angrily. "No! Gideon was here because of Dumbledore and we're friends so we hung out before he had to leave! Aren't I allowed to have friends other than the four of you?"

She climbed out of the carriage before any of them could say anything. She hurried into a different carriage and ended up in the same one as Lily and Marlene. Her sister was shocked by her new appearance.

"Your hair's so beautiful," compliment Lily with a small smile. There was a tense air between the two of them. The two had never been able to get along with each other without getting the other upset.

"Thanks," she said, "how's Petunia?"

"She wouldn't talk to me," said Lily with a strained smile. Lilac felt a pang of pity for her older twin sister. Deep down she knew that Lily truly didn't understand why their eldest sibling hated her so much and she knew that Lilac had treated Lily as cold as Petunia had.

"And mum? Dad?"

"I got to show them what we learned at school. They were impressed by the magic," said Lily beaming. Lilac bit the inside of her cheek. Lily doing magic at home must've been the reason why Petunia refused to talk to Lily.

"What did he do?" Marlene asked quietly. Lilac's eyes shot over to the dark haired girl who had been sitting next to Lily quietly. "What did Black do this time?"

"What?"

"The reason why I broke up with Sirius Black was because he's afraid of commitment. Yet, he gets jealous easily and ends up trying to control others without meaning to," explained Marlene. "I know I haven't been the easiest person to talk to, and I suppose I was jealous of how close you were with him but I've accepted the fact that he won't ever love me. So what did Sirius Black do this time?"

"He got mad at me for spending my break with Gideon Prewett," she said quietly.

"That's ridiculous," scoffed Marlene crossing his arms, "you and Black aren't a couple, are you?"

"No."

"Then he has no right to tell you who you can and can't spend time with!" Marlene exclaimed angrily. Lilac blinked at her outburst. Perhaps McKinnon never really hated her. Maybe she had despised Sirius and had been taking it out on her.

"She's right," said Lily nodding, "no one's allowed to tell you what you can and can't do."

"I know, that's why I left," said Lilac shrugging. "Sirius will probably apologize after dinner or tomorrow morning."

"Sirius Black, apologize?" Marlene asked wondering if she had heard correctly.

"He does apologize, you know," she said giving them a look, "he has a heart. It just takes him a while and he'll sulk about his ego being bruised for a couple days but as long as he's forgiven he won't care."

"He's never apologized to _me_ ," said Marlene full of resentment. The rest of the carriage ride to Hogwarts was quiet. Lily and Marlene talked but Lilac didn't want to barge into their conversation. Instead she busied herself in her old book.

"Vix, stop reading," said James grabbing her arm. She looked up and noticed that they had stopped. Lily and Marlene were getting off of the carriage. Marlene shot Sirius a dirty glare before walking off as fast as possible.

"Lilac, I'm… I'm sorry for what I said," said Sirius clearing his throat. He looked guilty and Lilac knew that Remus and Peter had scolded him for what he said. Peter was sweet but he was terrifying when you hurt someone close to him. Remus was the same.

"Hm, you're forgiven," she said with a smile. Sirius's eyes lit up and his lips curved upwards into a smirk.

"Will your fox look any different now that your hair is half blonde?"

* * *

Sirius and Lilac seemed to return back to their normal relationship. Of course, they were a lot more wary of each other but they tried not to make it too obvious. James kept trying to push them together while Remus tried to hold James back. Peter was Lilac's personal support and he helped her balance the time between her studies and hanging out with friends. Ophelia Kerrigan had also sent her a letter, telling her that she'd love to have her as an apprentice.

"Where do you go every morning?" Sirius asked when she walked back into the dorm. James was still asleep and so was Peter. Remus was in the bathroom and Sirius was lying in bed shirtless.

"You woke earlier than usual," she commented ignoring his question.

"Not as early as you, apparently," he said with a shrug, "did you eat breakfast already?"

"No."

Sirius sat up and held out his arms. She slowly walked over and he wrapped his arms around her hips, resting his head against her stomach. Her hands found themselves tangled in his long hair.

"I miss you all the time," he whispered.

"Sirius—"

"Just stay here for a moment. I don't care if you don't want me anymore. Just stay here," he begged. Lilac swallowed and kept running her hands through his hair. Sirius let out a content sigh and pulled her even closer to him. He pulled away and grinned at her before turning into a big black dog.

"Sirius!" Lilac exclaimed as he started licking her face. She turned into a fox and nipped at his nose. She was still red but her tail turned blonde at the end and the tips of her ears were also blonde. He growled at her and tackled her. Sirius was double her size as a dog so she got crushed under his weight.

After a few minutes of struggling, she bit his ear, making him yelp and get off of her. Lilac gave him a satisfied smirk when he whimpered at the pain in his ear. She curled up on the middle of his bed and Sirius curled up around her, acting like a blanket of some sort.

"Padfoot's gone soft," commented Remus when he saw them. Sirius let out a loud bark which woke up James and Peter. James immediately grabbed a camera and took a picture of the two which annoyed Lilac.

"James I will throw that out the window," threatened Lilac as she transformed back. Sirius did the same and lazily pulled Lilac against his chest. She pushed him away and got up, fixing her clothes and hair.

"Did we have Charms homework?" Peter asked going through his bag.

"Yeah, do you need mine?" Lilac asked grabbing her uniform out of her trunk. Peter nodded and she handed him her essay. James and Sirius immediately went over to also use it which made her roll her eyes. After she got changed, they all went down to the Great Hall. She met eyes with Regulus and Severus before looking at Lily and Marlene.

"So, Vix, we're planning another prank," said James slinging an arm around her shoulders. Lilac raised an eyebrow at him. "We were thinking that the Slytherins are getting a bit too comfortable in their dungeons."

"What do you suggest, Prongs?" Lilac asked grinning.

"The game against Ravenclaw is coming up quite soon, perhaps the Slytherins would like a little help getting ready to support the winners" said Sirius with a wink. Remus furrowed his eyebrows and gave them a concerned look. They were going to get themselves into so much trouble.

"I'll look into it," she said sitting down. The game would be in a week's time. It was more than enough time for Lilac to figure out a good prank with Sirius and James. Their best subject was transfiguration, after all, they had accomplished Animagus transformations which was one of the most difficult and risky types of transfiguration.

"Miss Evans, if you could, transfigure Mr. Black into an animal of your choice," said McGonagall much to everyone's pleasure. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her and leaned back in his chair, awaiting her move.

"Hm, Corpus Vulpes!" Lilac exclaimed, pointing at the boy lounging in the chair next to her. Faster than anyone could blink, Sirius had been turned into a fox with a light red coat of fur. James, Remus, and Peter realized why she had chosen a fox of all animals and burst into laughter. The redhead smirked at the fox with self-satisfaction.

"Very impressive, Miss Evans!" McGonagall praised. "Twenty points to Gryffindor! Now, I expect you all to be able to accomplish what Miss Evans has demonstrated. You will find a list of spells in your book."

While everyone started chattering and practicing Lilac looked at James with a eager smirk. He immediately knew what she wanted and pointed his wand at her. Sirius walked in circles on his desk as he got used to being a fox.

"Corpus Canis," said James. Lilac then found herself in the form of a big black dog, extremely similar to the one Sirius took the form of. Sirius let out an alarmed yip at the sudden realization of Lilac's plans and jumped off of his desk, running towards McGonagall. Lilac barked and ran after him, easily catching up and tackling him to the ground.

"It's what you get, Padfoot," said Remus watching Sirius get toyed around by Lilac. Needless to say, the youngest Evans twin was enjoying herself immensely. McGonagall's eyebrows raised but she didn't try to change them back.

"Watch out, Lilac," said Peter as Sirius bit her ear. She let out a pained bark and pushed Sirius with her snout, sending him tumbling onto the ground and sliding across the floor. James then took pity on his best mate and transfigured him back.

"You're so petty," sighed Sirius as he pet Lilac's black mane, "although you look quite nice as me. And I make a fine fox, don't you think?"

Lilac nipped at his hand and James turned her back.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, Padfoot," she said giving him a pointed look.

"Yes ma'am."

James let out a snort at that and Lilac rolled her eyes. Some people in the class managed to transfigure their friends however a majority of the class were struggling to even transfigure a hand.

"You five seem to be very adequate in Transfiguration," said McGonagall walking over to the five of them. "Have any of you given any thought to what you would like to be when you've all graduated?"

"An auror," chimed Sirius and James.

"I'd like to go to a muggle university and then perhaps become a professor," said Remus with a thoughtful look.

"I'm going to work in the Ministry," said Peter after a moment's thought. Lilac bit her lip, remembering the conversation she had with Gideon. The Ministry was overrun by Death Eaters, Peter couldn't work there. It was far too dangerous.

"Miss Evans? What about you?" McGonagall asked.

"I've been given an apprenticeship with a potioneer," she said shyly.

"What?" Sirius blurted, sitting up. None of the boys had heard about this. Lilac hadn't told anyone yet as she was still deciding on whether or not she'd decide to chose that path. Or rather, if she'd live long enough to have a choice.

"An apprenticeship? With whom?" McGonagall asked curiously.

"Ophelia Kerrigan?" Lilac said unsure. She hadn't done much research on Caplum's sister yet as she hadn't had the time.

"Ophelia Kerrigan? She and her husband are famous!" James exclaimed with wide eyes. "Edward Kerrigan's the captain of the Bigonville Bombers! Ophelia's infamous for her knack to predict which team will win!"

"And she's an incredibly famous potioneer who's work has credited to the Wizarding World greatly," added McGonagall amused by James's excitement for Quidditch. Only he would know about Ophelia Kerrigan's prediction skills and not her potions skills. "When does your apprenticeship start?"

"I haven't decided whether or not I wanted to accept," she said with a shrug.

"Why not?" Sirius asked frowning. "You've always wanted to be an auror but you've been incredible with potions."

"I had plans to help fight in the war and I feel like I wouldn't be able to if I'm glued to my cauldron all day," she said with a shrug.

"Well, you'll have a whole year to think about it. Your will to help out in the war is very admirable, Miss Evans," said McGonagall kindly before she went to help out some of the other students. Sirius whirled in his seat to look at her.

"Why didn't you tell us about the apprenticeship?" Sirius asked frowning. "You don't tell us anything anymore."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to tell you guys. I wanted to figure out what I wanted to do before telling you. I'm not sure if I want to be a potioneer," she said with a tired sigh. James ruffled her hair and gave her a smile.

"It doesn't matter what you're going to be. You're still the brightest witch in our generation," he said cheering her up. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she placed her hands over his, smiling at him. Sirius's lips pulled down into a frown as he looked at her. James was always comforting her and making her smile. Lately he seemed to only make her upset and angry at him. Lilac got it all wrong. He wasn't good enough for her.

* * *

 _AN: Hello! Second author's note of the story so far! I just wanted to say that every time I get an email telling me that someone was reading my book and bookmarked it my heart soars. This is the first book I've ever put online for the public to read and I'm very insecure about my writing so getting reviews and knowing people are reading my fanfic gives me motivation to improve and keep writing. Thank you for those of you who are taking to time to read this story, I'll work even harder to make it better!_


	9. Chapter Nine

**CHAPTER NINE**

James and Sirius were confident that they would win the Quidditch Cup. When she walked down to the Great Hall, she was wearing her Gryffindor tie as a bandana headband and James's Quidditch jersey. James and Sirius had an argument that morning over whose jersey she should wear and James ended up winning.

"Vix!" James yelled as she walked into the Great Hall. She grinned and gave him a high-five before sitting down next to Sirius. People were starting to get curious as it was strange to have only one Marauder walk into the hall before or after the others.

"The Slytherins look tired," commented Lilac glancing over at the table decked in green and silver.

"Perhaps they need a wake up call," said James with a snicker. Lilac winked at them and picked up a goblet. A couple people looked over to watch her. They were starting to get suspicious at this point.

"To the Gryffindor Quidditch team!" Lilac yelled. All the Gryffindors cheered and held up their goblets as a toast. At the same exact time, a poof of scarlet and gold glitter fell on the Slytherin table. When the glitter clouds cleared, the Slytherins were left with sparkling red hair and gold face paint lines.

"Looks like someone's getting their Gryffindor spirit on!" Sirius laughed as all the Slytherins panicked and started yelling angrily. Remus obviously disapproved but laughed anyways.

"Miss Evans, that will be detention tonight after dinner," said McGonagall not looking reprimanding at all. Instead, she looked amused. Lilac nodded and winked at the boys who just grinned. After bantaring with the Slytherins for a while, they headed down to the Quidditch Pitch. Lilac grinned at the sight of a redhead Severus and Regulus. They glared at her as they sat in their respective seats in the pitch.

"Look at James," said Remus as the chaser flew upside down.

"What an idiot," she scoffed as he threw the Quaffle into the hoop. Peter jumped up and started waving the little red flags he held in both hands. The Ravenclaws were good this year and they were - obviously - smart. They knew a lot of the Gryffindor plays and could counter them well.

"Look at that Ravenclaw Keeper over there," said Marlene from behind them. Lilac and Lily both leaned over the railing to look at the keeper. He had sandy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"That's Westley Creevy," she said with a grin.

"He's definitely easy on the eyes," said Marlene with a happy sigh. Even though Lilac was in full support of Gryffindor, she had to admit Westley had a fit body as a keeper in the Quidditch team. Sirius seemed to have overheard their conversation and chose to show off when a bludger zoomed towards the crowd. Students screamed and Sirius flew in front of it, hitting it away with all his strength. Girls swooned at the action. Sirius looked over his shoulder and winked at Lilac before flying off.

"Someone needs to knock his ego down a couple kegs," scoffed Lilac unimpressed by his actions. Remus shook his head and laughed, amused by his friend's attempt. Both James and Sirius were shamelessly showing off their skills.

"I wonder what their main goal is, beating the Ravenclaws or making girls fall in love with them?" Remus wondered jokingly. Lilac laughed and cheered as James scored another Quaffle in. It was definitely the hardest game of the year. The game lasted almost four hours which completely tired them all out. When the Ravenclaw seeker caught the snitch, they were all relieved. Gryffindor had racked up more points however, and so the Quidditch cup went to Gryffindor.

"Gryffindor! Gryffindor! Gryffindor!"

The chanting could probably be heard from Hogsmeade. Lilac was sent to get the firewhisky as Rosmerta liked her the best and the others were banned from the Three Broomsticks for the rest of the year.

"So, how are things with you and Black?" Rosmerta asked as she poured her a glass of butterbeer before she went back. It had been a while since she and the barmaid had talked so she decided to have dinner there instead of at Hogwarts.

"We broke up before Christmas break," she mumbled as she drank. Rosmerta gave her a pitiful look.

"And you two are still friends?"

"Nothing will stop us from being friends," said Lilac with a nod, "it's not as awkward as before but it's still different though."

"I won't pry too much but if you ever want some advice you can always come to me," she said with an affectionate pat on Lilac's head.

"Thanks. I should probably get going," said Lilac grabbing the crate of firewhisky and throwing James's invisibility cloak over her head. While she was going back to Honeydukes, there was a scream and Lilac turned around to see Death Eaters apparating into the village and setting buildings aflame. Dropping the crate of firewhisky, she grabbed her wand and shot a knockback jinx at a Death Eater.

"Help!" came a kid's scream. She ran into the crumbling building and grabbed the little boy's hand, pulling him out before it collapsed. There was fire everywhere and screams that pierced through the air.

"Where's your parents?" Lilac gasped as they took cover behind a half-destroyed wall. The boy looked around seven years old and didn't seem too injured. His wrist looked sprained but that could be easily fixed.

"I don't know," he said between terrified sobs. Lilac was scared out of her mind but she couldn't freeze up, especially while the kid's life was in her hands. People were running around and there were spells flying around almost aimlessly.

"Crucio!" came a yell. Lilac whirled around and flicked her wand, blocking the spell before it could hit her. The man wore an ugly silver mask with black lines and swirls on it. Just like the other Death Eaters he donned a black cloak and hood.

"Flipendo!" Lilac yelled. "Incendio! Stupefy! Reducto!"

The Death Eater was fast but wasn't fast enough to dodge the last spell. He was flung across the village and she grabbed the boy's arm, pulling him out of the village. There, a couple adults were standing, watching their village burn. Rosmerta and Caplum were among them.

"Davie!" cried a woman running over and scooping the boy up. "Thank you so much! I was so worried."

"It's not a problem," she said with a somber smile.

"Are you ok, love?" Caplum asked heading over to her. His eyes were watery and he looked as if he was trying to stay strong. His nose looked broken and his shirt was torn. Looking behind him, Lilac saw Rosmerta cradling her arm that looked broken.

"I'm fine. I need to get back to Hogwarts," she said giving him a hug before making her way back down into the village. The Death Eaters had mostly left by now and she threw the invisibility cloak around herself, stealthily making her way into Honeydukes. Along the way, she grabbed the crate of Firewhisky she had dropped near the doorway.

Sirius felt small burning sensations all over his body as he got changed. Frowning, he touched his cheek, there was a sharp stab and he looked at his arm, seeing a cut suddenly appear and blood oozed out. His breath caught in his throat and his heart pounded.

"Something's wrong," said Sirius looking at James with wide eyes, "something happened to Lilac."

"What? How do you know?" James asked incredulously. He had been celebrating the win of the Quidditch cup with the team but Sirius's expression made him somber up. Another cut appeared on his leg. "Hey, Padfoot, what's going on?"

"Everytime Lilac gets hurt I receive a part of the injury so she won't be too injured. Right now, she'd getting hurt. Where is she?"

"She went to Hogsmeade," said James pulling on his shirt and running out. They made their way over to one of the secret passageways and started running through the tunnel. They met Lilac half-way. She looked awful and smelled strongly of smoke.

"What happened?" Sirius demanded as he grabbed the crate of firewhisky and set it down on the ground. He grabbed her arms and inspected her for injures and started healing them with his wand.

"There was an attack. They set the place on fire," said Lilac quietly. Adrenaline was still running through her veins and her body shook as the attack started to settle in. Sirius saw her eyes water and immediately pulled her into his arms.

"It alright. You're safe now," he said comfortingly. James watched with a concerned expression and picked up the firewhisky crate.

"Come on, we should get back," said James grabbing his cloak and guiding them back. By tomorrow the entire school would learn about the attack in Hogsmeade. Lilac needed to talk to Dumbledore and write a letter to Gideon. Severus and Regulus would also like to know about what happened.

"Do you want to go to Madam Pomfrey?" Sirius asked once they were back in Hogwarts. She shook her head.

"I want to go see Dumbledore. You guys go enjoy the party," she said pulling her arm out of Sirius's grasp.

"Lilac, you just got out of an attack," said James gently, "we should go with you."

"I'll be fine," she said firmly, "you two are the stars of the party. They'll get suspicious if you don't show up. Go."

"Lil—"

"Sirius," she interrupted, "just go!"

The two frowned but slowly left. She went the other way and went to Dumbledore's office. She was surprised to see Severus and Regulus already there. The two Slytherins were relieved to see her.

"You're alright," said Regulus relieved. Lilac furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before remembered the ring on her finger. They would know if she was ever in danger and she would know if they were.

"There was an attack on Hogsmeade," she announced.

"Yes, I just received the news," said Dumbledore with his mouth pulled in a tight line, "although there are no details about how the attack happened. The village will be rebuilt quickly but three people were killed in the attack."

"Three?" Lilac asked faintly. Blood was pounding in her ears and she wondered if she had seen one of them die and didn't realize it in the middle of the chaos. The fireplace flared and Gideon ran out, scooping Lilac up in him arms.

"Lilac! You're alright, aren't you?" Gideon asked worried.

"I'm fine. I'm not hurt too bad," she said shaking her head, "Sirius healed my cuts."

"And Rosmerta? Caplum?"

"They're alive."

Gideon let out a breath of relief and slumped onto the couch. His eyes looked sunken and tired. It was obvious that he had just come back from one of his auror missions. Dumbledore placed a pepper-up potion on the table for Gideon.

"It was extremely dangerous to go into Hogsmeade alone, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore frowning.

"How exactly did you even get into Hogsmeade in the first place?" Gideon asked confused and curious.

"It doesn't matter how I got in. I'm at least still alive. Why's the Dark Lord attacking Hogsmeade though? What's he getting out of it?" Lilac asked frowning. "Is it to scare students' parents since Hogsmeade is so close to Hogwarts?"

"The three people that were killed, they were all muggleborns," said Dumbledore quietly. Lilac swallowed, realizing how close to danger she really was. The Death Eater who tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on her would've killed her. She sat down on the couch next to Gideon and started at her soot covered hands.

"The aurors are there trying to get the situation under control," said Gideon drinking the potion.

"The aurors?" Lilac asked sounding more resentful than she meant to be. Gideon's eyebrows furrowed. "The Ministry is so overrun with Death Eaters I bet they're doing more harm than good right now."

She felt helpless and scared. The safety she once had inside the castle walls of Hogwarts didn't seem to exist anymore. She hated herself for being at the attack but not being able to save those three lives.

"Lilac, the entire Ministry isn't overrun. There's still… there's still some good aurors working out there," said Gideon placing a hand on her shoulder. Lilac choked on a sob and wrapped her arms around his neck. Severus and Regulus were uncomfortable as they watched the Gryffindor cry. Severus felt a need to comfort her but didn't know how. After all, Lilac wasn't like Lily. Regulus was bewildered and wondered if he should get his brother. He had never seen a Gryffindor cry before. Sirius had cried once at home, but that was before Hogwarts, when they were much younger.

"Miss Evans, we're trying to do everything we can to stop and fight against the attacks. It's right to distrust the Ministry as it is corrupt, but we can't assume that everyone is on the dark side," said Dumbledore in a soft voice, "if you would, Mr. Snape and Mr. Black, bring Miss Evans to the hospital wing. I take it that there's a party in the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Yes sir," said Lilac nodding. Gideon frowned at her messy appearance and wiped her eyes with his sleeve.

"I highly doubt you'd be able to get a good night's sleep in there tonight. After what you've been through tonight it'd be best you sleep in the hospital wing," said Dumbledore with a soft smile. Lilac nodded and the three Hogwarts students walked out.

"I didn't know they were planning an attack," mumbled Severus feeling guilty that he couldn't warn her. If he had tried harder and been more believable that he was really on the Dark Lord's side then they might've told him and she wouldn't have been there.

"It's alright, Sev. They wouldn't have told you anyways since you wouldn't have been able to join the attack," said Lilac giving him a comforting smile. "Thanks, for being worried about me."

They explained her situation to Madam Pomfrey and she was glad to have her stay in the hospital wing. It wasn't too hard falling asleep in there, she slept there every full moon in the bed next to Remus.

"Tomorrow morning it'll be all over the Daily Prophet," said Regulus frowning, "will you be ok being surrounded by that?"

"I don't know," she admitted, "tonight made me realize how real the war was. It's not just headlines, Reggie. It's life and death."

* * *

Lilac looked as horrible as she felt. She had slept for a couple hours but woke up screaming. The attack in Hogsmeade kept playing over and over again in her head. The Death Eater that tried to crucio her killed her every time. Eventually Lilac left the Hospital wing at four am, deciding to run around the Quidditch Pitch.

"Hey, take a break," said a voice. She looked up at the stands to see Sirius watching her. "It's been two hours. Don't think I didn't notice how you didn't come back to the tower last night. How are you feeling?"

"Awful," she admitted.

"You definitely look awful. Let's get you cleaned up. Did you notice that you're still covered in soot, dirt, and blood?" Sirius asked guiding her back into the castle. Lilac did but she didn't have the motivation to drag herself into the shower. All she wanted to do was to run which cleared her mind.

"I'm just tired, Sirius," she sighed as they made their way up to the Gryffindor tower.

"It's alright, you can sleep after you shower," he said as he opened the bathroom door. While she took a shower, he grabbed some clean clothes out of her trunk and waited outside the door for her.

"Sirius, do you have my clothes?" Lilac asked opening the door slightly. She was wrapped up in a towel and the smell of her lilac shampoo filled the air. He handed her the small stack of clothing and she closed the door again. He then went to McGonagall's room and knocked on her door.

"Mr. Black? What are you doing awake so early in the morning?" McGonagall asked surprised.

"Can Lilac be excused from answering questions in classes today?" Sirius asked much to her surprise.

"Does this have to do with the attack last night?" McGonagall asked, pity filling her eyes. Sirius nodded. "Alright then. Check up on her, Black. She witnessed a horrible thing last night. Something someone so young should never witness or experience."

"I will, Professor," he said going back to the dorms. She found Lilac curled up next to James. With a heavy sigh, he went to his bed. There was the sound of feet and his cover was lifted and a warm body slipped in next to him.

"Sirius? Are you really going to be an auror when you graduate?" Lilac asked cautiously.

"You wanted to be one too," he pointed out. Sirius turned onto his side to look at her. She looked smaller than usual and he didn't like the look of uncertainty in her face. Lilac always knew what she wanted and was always confident in herself. "You've always wanted to get involved with the war."

"And I did, last night. The aurors didn't help," she said softly, "the didn't get there in time. It was horrible, there was so much screaming and it all happened so fast. They attacked and disappeared in about ten minutes."

"But you're alive. You made it out."

"Three people didn't. Three muggleborns didn't."

Sirius took in a sharp breath and slid one arm under her and pulled her closer to him. He felt so much anger for the people who carried out the attack and sorrow for the girl in his arms. After graduation it wouldn't matter what he became. As long as he could keep her safe.

Lilac fell asleep shortly after their conversation. An hour or so later, they all had to wake up for breakfast. James worried over her all morning while Remus and Peter did small things to show they were there for her.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked as Lilac checked her appearance in the mirror.

"No, but we have to go eat anyways," she said shrugging. James threw his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. On the walk down to the Great Hall, there was a lot of chatter and whispering. Everyone knew about the attack on Hogsmeade. When she saw the Daily Prophet, her heart sank.

 _Deadly Attack In Hogsmeade; 3 Dead, 5 Missing_

"Here, eat something," said Peter sliding a plate across the table so it was in front of her. Sirius plucked the paper out of her hand and folded it up before placing it down on the bench next to him. They ended up talking about their summer plans as school was coming to a fast end. Lilac knew they were trying to make her feel better but the topic of summer plans made her feel nauseous.

After staying home for a week she'd go to the Leaky Cauldron and find Gideon. Then Severus, Gideon, and Lilac would go to Romania. She wondered if she'd make it out of their trip. Death was always an outcome she had acknowledged when she was planning the mission but now it seemed more real.

"If I could have you attention for a few minutes?" Dumbledore asked as he stood up. "As you all know, Hogsmeade was attacked last night. Due to the damage done to the village, we're looking for 6th and 7th year volunteers to help repair the buildings. If you would like to volunteer, please head over to Professor McGonagall by the doors. Please keep in mind that being Hogsmeade will be potentially dangerous."

Lilac was the first to stand up and walked over to the Transfiguration Professor. The rest of the Marauders followed her lead and her twin also volunteered. No one from Slytherin volunteered. A few Ravenclaws stood up and so did some of the Hufflepuffs.

"Miss Evans, are you sure this is a good idea?" McGonagall asked quietly so no one else could hear.

"I want to see," she said determinedly. The walk to Hogsmeade was tense. It was obvious that people were afraid that a couple Death Eaters were still around, ready to attack any muggle borns that entered. Gasps came from all the students when they saw the remains. The magical village was burned and destroyed. Nurses and doctors from St. Mungo's were tending the injured and there were still a couple people crying. There was a large stack of wood and stone to be used to rebuild.

"Alright everyone, stay in groups of three or more," instructed McGonagall before talking to Rosmerta. The Three Broomsticks wasn't too damaged but the Death Eaters took the time to trash the inside. Gideon was also there, helping Rosmerta clean things up.

"Hey love," said Caplum gloomily, "you're not too injured are you?"

"No, you?" Lilac asked looking over his tall and thin figure. He most likely stayed up all night. His arms and legs were scratched up and there were bruises on his shoulder but he looked generally fine.

"I'm doing better than my store," he said pointing at a black spot. They had burned the salon down to the ground. All that was left were ashes. She wrapped her arms around him. Caplum seemed to need the comfort and took deep breaths.

"We'll try to fix it," she said taking out her old book. She flipped through the pages and gauged the damage. She could try the reversal spell written down but that could be dangerous. She hadn't had the chance to test it out yet. Instead, she pointed her wand at the ashes and moved it all to the side.

"What are you reading?" Caplum asked looking over her shoulder. His face scrunched up in confusion as the words moved across the pages lazily. Sirius clamped a hand on the hairdresser's shoulder and shook his head.

"No use asking. She won't tell you," he said. With the flick of her wand, she brought over slabs of wood from the pile and created a floor. James followed her lead and started creating walls. Remus got started on creating supports and making sure the building wouldn't collapse. Caplum started getting new hair supplies and placing furniture in.

"It looks great!" Gideon exclaimed as he walked in. Peter and Remus had just finished putting the roof on. Lilac laughed as Sirius spun her around in one of the pink chairs. Caplum looked at Gideon and raised an eyebrow.

"So that's the Black boy?" Caplum asked quietly.

"Sirius Black," said Gideon nodding.

"I approve. She looks happier around him," said Caplum with a nod. He then walked over to the two with a grin. "The next time you come in here you'll get your hair done for free. It's the least I can do after you helped rebuild this place."

"Thanks Cap," she said giving him a hug, "we should go though. Rosie might need some help at the Three Broomsticks."

They then started walking towards the Three Broomsticks. From what they could see, the windows were smashed through and the door had been torn off its hinges and cracked in half. Rosmerta was sweeping the broken glass away.

"So, you and the hairdresser?" Sirius mumbled. Lilac raised an eyebrow at him.

"Jealous much?" Lilac teased. He smirked at her and her smugness disappeared immediately.

"Last time I checked, I was the only one to see you naked in bed," he murmured into her ear. Her cheeks flushed red and she pushed him away. Sirius laughed at her embarrassed expression.

"You're awful," she said as she started walking faster. Rosmerta was happy to see her. "Hey Rosie, is there anything we can do to help out?"

"There's a lot of glass inside. Do you think you could repair it back into glasses and plates? If not then just sweep it all up," said Rosmerta using her wand to move the broken door so they could get through. Inside looked like a murder scene.

"Rosie? There's blood over here," said Remus worried. Lilac slowly made her way over, careful to not scratch herself on the glass. Dried blood was splattered across the floor and it made her feel sick.

"It's alright. No one died in here," said Rosmerta quietly.

"Scourgify," said Lilac pointing at the blood. It disappeared and they got to work with the glass. Gideon appeared a few minutes later to help out. Lilac smiled when she saw Gideon and Rosmerta bickering about what to do with the tables. His ears were red as he argued with Rosmerta. The boy liked her for sure.

The kitchen was blocked by stone, wood, and glass. Getting through was extremely difficult but Lilac eventually forced her way through. Inside, she found something that made her blood run cold.

"Gid-Gideon!" Lilac screamed running out. She immediately wanted to hit herself in the face as her scream woke up the Death Eater who had been asleep in the kitchen. Pointing her wand at him, she quickly hexed him. "Expelliarmus! Stupefy!"

The Death Eater's head hit the wall behind him and he passed out unconscious. Gideon, Sirius, and Peter were the first to arrive into the kitchen. They were shocked to see the man with a silver mask on his face and the black hood.

"Stay behind me," ordered Gideon as he made sure he was placed in between her and the unconscious man. Slowly, he stalked over and kicked the man's wand away. When he pulled the mask off, Gideon let out a grunt. "Mulciber. I knew he joined the Death Eaters."

"There's no other Death Eaters in here, is there?" Rosmerta asked worriedly.

"No. Mulciber probably drunk too much," said Gideon using a spell to bind his hands and legs. "I'll take this one to the Ministry. Be careful, I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't get yourselves killed while I'm gone, I'm talking to you, Lils."

"Rude," scoffed Lilac from behind Sirius. The second he had seen the Death Eater, Sirius had grabbed her and pushed her behind him. Lilac didn't know whether to be offended that he didn't think she could defend herself or be flattered that he'd put himself in danger for her. There was a pop and Gideon disappeared.

"Mulciber didn't hurt you at all, did he?" James asked grabbing her hands and inspecting them.

"No. He didn't seem too aware of anything that was going on," she said pulling her hands away, "sort of like you the morning after a huge party."

"He must have the worst headache ever then," said James with a chuckle.

"I don't think that's what he should be worried about. He's going to Azkaban," said Sirius shrugging. "Isn't that two Death Eaters that you've defeated so far?"

"Yeah, although I didn't get to catch the first one," said Lilac biting her lip, "I guess my job as an auror isn't that far-fetched."

"You're not going to be a potioneer? Caplum was telling me how his sister seemed excited to have an apprentice," said Rosmerta frowning.

"I haven't decided on anything yet."

* * *

 _AN: This is just an update for next week as I will be going on vacation and will not have Wifi. Happy summer!_


	10. Chapter Ten

**CHAPTER TEN**

The news of Hogsmeade terrified parents and made them paranoid. Some refused to sign the Hogsmeade forms for the next year and some weren't sure if they wanted to even send their kid to Hogwarts. Lily and Lilac's parents weren't too fazed however, as they didn't understand any of the Wizarding news.

"Are you still the top of your classes, Lilac?" her mother asked kindly. Lilac felt extremely uncomfortable, being placed on a higher pedestal than Lily. She didn't like it and wished that her mother still thought that Lily was better.

"Yes, mum," she said nodding.

"Why don't you demonstrate something for us?" her father asked. Lilac looked helplessly at Petunia who just nodded at her. With a sigh, Lilac whipped out her wand and pointed at the wilted flowers that were placed in the center. In a flash they turned into colorful petunias.

"They're beautiful!" her mother exclaimed. Lilac gave them the fakest smile she could muster. She absolutely hated how they seemed to favor the child who did the best. The ones who didn't do as well were completely forgotten. If Lilac was going to be forced to do magic, she was going to make sure everything she did would remind them Petunia was their daughter too.

"I'm going on a trip with my friends next week," said Lilac tersely.

"What? For how long?" her mother asked surprised.

"I'm not sure."

"Is this with the Potters?" her father asked. Petunia and Lily were both surprised by the sudden trip.

"No. I'm 17 though, I can even move out if I want to," said Lilac looking at her parents defiantly. Since she spent most of her life at Hogwarts, her parents still thought that she was the little shy eleven year old who had no backbone. They were always so surprised whenever she went up against them.

"Alright then," said her father reluctantly, "although, we're having our neighbors over for lunch tomorrow. I'm thinking of redecorating the house. Perhaps with flowers and a couple plants? These flowers are gorgeous."

"No wonder you named Petunia after them," said Lilac grinning at her eldest sister. Petunia's eyes widened and she smiled back, obviously flattered. "How are you and Vernon, Tuney?"

"We're doing well. We should invite him over for dinner before you leave," said Petunia excitedly. Lilac nodded in agreement.

"That would be great!"

After dinner, Lilac found herself cornered by both Petunia and Lily. They wanted to know where she was going and who she was going with. It wasn't as if she could tell them, they'd make sure she didn't leave the house if they knew.

"Gideon Prewett? Why are you going to Romania with Prewett?" Lily asked surprised.

"We're friends. Plus, he wants me to help him get something for Rosmerta. He likes her," said Lilac smirking. Lily and Petunia seemed convinced by her story. It wasn't completely a lie so Lilac didn't feel too bad.

"You'll be back won't you?" Petunia asked hopefully. The blonde gave Lily a repulsed glance and Lilac nodded. In reality Lilac wasn't sure if she would come back. For all she knows, there's a high possibility that they might die.

In the morning, Lily and Lilac got ready for lunch with the neighbors. Lilac hadn't seen the neighbors in years. She wondered if they would even recognize her with the new hairstyle. Petunia and her parents were stunned when they first saw her.

"Welcome!" her mother said cheerily as she opened the door. A tall woman with black hair and piercing blue eyes walked in with her husband. He was a large man with a curly brown beard. Just like she had a few years ago, she thought he resembled a lumberjack. Behind the couple was another couple. Mr. and Mrs. Hedgers were strict and stern people who only liked well behaved and well educated people.

"Dear me! Is that Lilac?" Mrs. Rhones asked with wide eyes. "I haven't seen you since you were twelve years old! You've grown so tall and beautiful."

"Thank you, Mrs. Rhones. You look well too," said Lilac politely.

"You must be a real heartbreaker at school," chuckled Mr. Rhones. He was always Lilac's favorite neighbor. "How many boys have you turned down since we've last seen each other?"

"Now darling, what kind of question is that?" Mrs. Rhones asked scolding her husband. Mr. Rhones only laughed and winked at her. They all went to the dining room and sat down. The neighbors were extremely impressed by the beautiful display of flowers and the decorations in the house.

"Did you hire someone to redecorate?" Mrs. Hedgers asked looking around.

"Lilac and Lily actually redecorated the house," said Mrs. Evans proudly.

"Petunia helped too," piped Lilac, "she helped pick the flowers and the silverware."

"Ah yes, how are you doing in school, Lilac? Better than average, I presume?" Mr. Hedgers asked scrutinizing her. Unlike Mr. Rhones, Lilac always felt that he hated her. Everything he said let her know that he didn't think too highly of her.

"She's the top of all her classes," said Mr. Evans glad to be able to brag.

"Impressive. Lets see, when did the Big Bang theory first originate and with whom?" Mr. Hedgers asked. As a scientist, he would never accept the idea of witches and wizards. He seemed like the type of person to even test on them to try and figure out where their magic even came from.

"1920's by Georges Lemaitre that was subsequently supported through research by Hubble," answered Lilac easily.

"What are the conditions of an ideal fluid?"

"Incompressible, laminar flow, and non-viscous."

"Not bad," said Mr. Hedgers sounding slightly impressed.

"Petunia helped me a lot," admitted Lilac looking at her sister, "she's really smart."

Trying to get her GED by herself was difficult so she had Petunia teach her things she didn't understand through letters. One thing that her parents never realized was how smart Petunia really was. The girl might always strive to be normal, but her intelligence was well above normal. It was a shame Petunia would rather hide it.

"Ah, Petunia. You're still dating that Dursley boy, aren't you?" Mrs. Rhones asked smiling. "Does he have any expectations in life? A job?"

"He's actually the director of Gunning's manufacturing company," said Petunia proudly. Lilac smiled to herself as the conversation was then placed on Petunia. She knew that without her help the conversation would never be about Petunia.

"Well, Petunia seems to be very well off. What about you, Lilac?" Mr. Rhones asked making everyone's attention go to her. "Do you have any plans for after you graduate?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I was given an offer with a… science professor but I'm not sure whether or not I'd want to accept," she said with a shrug, "during this last year I think I'll explore my options."

"I suppose that's smart. What about you, Lily?" Mrs. Rhones asked.

"Perhaps a nurse? There's been an increase in accidents these couple years so I feel as if I could help out if I became a nurse," said Lily with a smile. That then spurred the conversation into discussing the recent mysterious deaths. Lilac and Lily knew however, that the mysterious deaths weren't all that mysterious.

* * *

Lilac twirled her wand around in her hand as she and Severus waited for Gideon to appear. Anxiety was building up in her stomach and she wondered if she was going to have a panic attack. That wouldn't be good. Sirius wasn't around and he was always there every time she panicked.

"Stop doing that," mumbled Severus. She immediately put her wand down on the table and folded her hands over each other on her lap. Severus sighed and got up. He walked over to the bar and then came back with a shot of firewhisky. "Drink it."

She didn't hesitate to drown the glass of liquor. The corners of Severus's lips curled up as Lilac made a disgusted face at the burning taste. She definitely seemed a lot calmer however. The doors to the Leaky Cauldron opened and Gideon walked in with Regulus holding three brooms.

"Are you two ready?" Gideon asked.

"As ready as anyone could be when about to face something that could kill you with one look," grumbled Lilac as she took one of the brooms. Turning around, she noticed Severus give Regulus a bracelet. "What's that?"

"It's a bracelet. It's like the ring," said Regulus pointing at the silver band around her middle finger. "It's how I'll know if you're ever injured and in need of help."

"Then why don't you wear the ring and I'll wear the bracelet?" Lilac asked raising an eyebrow. "I don't take you as a bracelets type of person."

"I'm not. Bracelets are easier to break however, and you're about to face dragons and a basilisk."

"Alright don't start bickering," said Gideon interrupting, "we should go now and get this over with. Where's the hat? We need Fawkes too."

"Right here," said a new voice. They all turned around to see Dumbledore holding the hat. A phoenix flew after him and then perched on Gideon's shoulder. Lilac stared at the bird in awe. It was beautiful and so rare. "Fawkes will assist you in place of me. Regulus and I will get started on finding the ring."

"We'll meet here in a week's time?" Gideon suggested.

"Let's hope so."

The Magical Creatures Sanctuary of Romania was located deep in the mountains. They were lucky they could apparate their way there. With Gideon's auror status it was much easier to get through the wards.

"Hello, I'm Eric Sanders, the director of this Sanctuary. How may I help you folks today?" a short man asked. He was about the height of Lilac which was considerably shorter than Gideon.

"I'm here concerning the issue of the Basilisk," said Gideon, "it's the Ministry's concern that the basilisk may be a danger to those living around these areas."

"Yes, well we've been able to trap it in the pit over there and we have dragons keeping people out. No one's been able to kill the basilisk however, as one look in it's eyes and you die," said Sanders with a frown.

"We're here to fix that issue," said Gideon holding out a letter. The Ministry's stamp was on the top of the letter and Lilac caught a glimpse of the Minister's signature on the bottom. She wondered how Gideon managed to get the Minister's permission.

"I'm sorry but these dragons are extremely hard to control. Even if you have a letter from the Ministry I cannot promise you a safe entrance," said Sanders unsure.

"It won't matter, we can get our way through," said Gideon glancing at Lilac and Severus. Sanders sighed and let them pass. There was a tall gate with signs everywhere, telling them to stay away. "Alright, mount your brooms."

Lilac and Severus clambered onto their brooms and Gideon flew up to the top of the fence. They followed the auror's lead and examined the inside of the fenced in pit. There were two dragons circling the entrance of the pit which would be difficult. Fawkes let out a screech before diving down. That caught the attention of the dragons immediately and they flew up towards them.

"Dive, dive, dive!" Gideon yelled as the dragons flew up. They quickly dove down and narrowly avoided crashing into the giant dragons. Her stomach plummeted and she turned just before one of the dragons shot a burst of fire.

"Sev! Behind you!" Lilac yelled pointing her wand at the dragon. "Stupefy!"

It stunned the dragon for half a second, giving Severus enough time to get out of it's path. Gideon was fending off the other dragon. The two Hogwarts students swerved and flew wildly to try and shake the red dragon chasing them. The other dragon was a light yellow.

"Lilac!" Severus yelled as the red dragon shot a blast of fire. It singed her hair but didn't do much damage due to her jacket's fire-resistance. Whirling around, she pointed her wand at the dragon.

"Aguamenti!" she shouted as it opened its mouth to breathe more fire. The water shot into its mouth and it started choking, giving the two enough time to fly into the pit. Gideon used a 'confundus' charm on the yellow dragon enough times for him to escape.

"Alright, everyone good?" Gideon asked as they caught their breath.

"I'm not hurt," said Severus.

"Me neither. If we manage to blind the Basilisk it'll be easier. It has a good sense of hearing though," she said reminding them again. Fawkes let out a soft screech to show he understood and dove down. All Lilac, Severus, and Gideon could do was to hope that the phoenix could manage to blind the basilisk.

All they could hear was Fawkes's screeches and hissing from the basilisk. The basilisk sounded like recordings of a dinosaur Lilac would hear at museums she visited with Petunia when they were younger. Soon the phoenix flew back up to them and she looked at Gideon. Slowly the auror turned around.

"I'm not dead yet so I guess that's a good thing," said Gideon flying down, "who has the dagger?"

"I do!" Severus yelled as he flew around the basilisk. It turned its head in his direction when he yelled.

"Incendio!" Lilac yelled distracting the basilisk. She screamed when the basilisk darted his head out at her. She tried to dart out the way but it's tail knocked her off her broom. The hat fluttered out of Lilac's hand and she hit the ground with a thump. Gideon's shouts and Severus's yells distracted the basilisk from attacking her.

"Lilac! Don't move! Don't make a sound!" Gideon yelled as he dodged the basilisk. She winced as she tried to sit up. Surprisingly, it didn't seem like any of her bones were broken. It was just bruises and aches.

Severus was no Gryffindor. There was a reason people connected Slytherins with cowardice, he was terrified. Before, he had been a bit more confident with the Gryffindor Princess and an auror but seeing Lilac getting knocked down so easily made it obvious that it wasn't going to be easy. He knew that Regulus must be in pain at the moment considering the fall Lilac had just taken.

"Here," said Severus handing Gideon the dagger as he flew past. He knew that there would be absolutely no way he'd get close enough to the Basilisk to even nick it. He tried to fly down and help Lilac but the Basilisk kept getting in the way.

"Shit!" Gideon yelled as the dagger was knocked out of his hand. Severus zoomed towards the man and grabbed his shirt, slowing down his rapid descend to the ground. Gideon groaned and let out a hiss. Severus's eyes went wide when he notice a large hole in his arm. Gideon was injured and poisoned by the Basilisk venom, Lilac was by herself on the other side of the pit, the dagger was nowhere to be found, and Severus was terrified.

* * *

Sirius cried out in pain as he crumpled to the ground. James dropped the Quaffle he was holding and ran over to his best friend. Blood trickled down Sirius's temple and scrapes appeared all over his left side.

"Padfoot? What happened? Did you get hit by the bludger?" James asked bewildered. Sirius drew in a shaky breath and stumbled back onto his feet. Lilac was hurt and in danger. He needed to find her.

"Lilac," he said tersely before apparating to the Evans' household. Petunia was outside on the porch, looking like she was waiting for someone. "Are you Lilac's sister? Do you know where she is?"

"Who are you? Stay away from me!" Petunia screamed, making Lily run out.

"Sirius! What happened?" Lily asked running towards him. She muttered a quick spell and his injuries healed.

"Lilac's hurt. Where did she go?" Sirius demanded. That got Petunia's attention.

"What?! What happened to Lilac?!" Petunia shrieked.

"She went with Gideon to Romania!"

There was only one place in Romania where she could've been so badly injured. He had gone there once with Regulus. There was no doubt that his younger brother knew where her exact location was. In a few seconds he was outside the place he dreaded. 12 Grimmauld Place. Regulus was already stumbling out of the house, looking much like he did a few minutes ago.

"Where's Lilac?" Sirius demanded. Regulus thrusted his Quidditch broom into Sirius's hands.

"Basilisk pit. Hurry!" Regulus yelled as a new cut appeared on both their legs. Sirius quickly apparated to Romania. A short man with the word Director Sanders on a tag stood waiting nervously by the gate.

"Who are you?" Sanders asked furrowing his eyebrows. Sirius ignored the man and got on the broom, flying right over the fence. One of the dragons - the red one - took one look at him and fly away. It looked drenched for some reason. The yellow one was the complete opposite and roared at him. Gritting his teeth, he started dodging.

* * *

Lilac staggered onto her feet and felt around for her wand. When she couldn't find it, she mentally cursed every old wizard she knew. Especially Herpo the Foul. Damn him, Lilac hoped he went and burned in hell for creating such a monster. He shouldn't be called Herpo the Foul. He should've been Herpo the Fucktard.

Her cursing was interrupted by a shiny object. Squinting, she gasped when she found the sorting hat. Inside the sorting hat, was a silver hilt encrusted with rubies. She grabbed it and pulled out a long silver sword.

"Hey, over here! You big ugly worm!" Lilac yelled.

She didn't think it could understand what she was saying since she wasn't a Parseltongue but it still turned around. As it moved, she caught a glimpse of Gideon who was clutching his arm in pain and Severus who looked petrified.

"Lilac no!" Severus yelled seeing her face the Basilisk. He grabbed his wand and shot a spell at it. The Basilisk was stunned for a second before it darted at Lilac. She jumped out of the way, hissing as she accidentally hit her bruised side. Her red hair was held back by a black bandana to keep it from falling in her eyes.

"Over here!" Lilac yelled as the Basilisk turned to Severus who kept shooting spells at it. Her chest heaved as she dropped onto the ground. The basilisk head passed right above her and she rolled before it dropped on her. The sword made grating noises as it kept dragging across the stone ground. It kept the Basilisk's attention on her and not Gideon. Fawks immediately flew over to Gideon and looked at the wound.

"Lilac!" yelled a new voice. Lilac gasped and looked up, seeing Sirius dive down towards her on a broom. The Basilisk looked up at the sound of his voice and tried to bite him. Sirius was faster however, and managed to dodge and fly down to her. He swiftly pulled her onto his broom before the Basilisk could attack again.

"Sirius, wait!" Lilac exclaimed holding onto him tightly. "We have to slay the Basilisk! Get me closer!"

"Lilac—"

"Shut up and do it!" Lilac yelled. Sirius grumbled something under his breath and they flew back down. As they circled around the Basilisk, she placed her hands on his shoulders and placed her feet on the broomstick handle.

"What are you doing?" Sirius asked with wide eyes. Lilac ignored him and waited for the perfect timing before jumping onto the basilisk. "No!"

She grabbed onto the scales and started climbing up it's long snake-like body. The Basilisk twisted and turned, trying to reach her. Sirius and Severus were smart however, and they both shot spells to distract it. Her fingers ached and the scales dug into her palms painfully but she kept going. When she got to it's head, she looked at Sirius.

"Someone stupefy it!" Lilac exclaimed.

"Stupefy!" yelled both boys. The snake froze as it was put in a daze by the spell. Taking that as her chance, she thrust the sword down and pierced right through the scales. The Basilisk roared in agony and flailed around, throwing Lilac off and onto the floor. The sounds died however, and it's large head slammed into the ground.

They all looked at the Basilisk warily, wondering if it was truly dead. Lilac made the first move and grabbed the silver hilt, pulling out the sword. It was dripping with a red liquid thinner than blood and lighter in color. Slowly, it seemed to absorb into the sword.

"Gideon," gasped Lilac running over to the auror. She cried out in pain as her right leg gave out. Sirius jumped off his broom and grabbed her, heaving her up. They stumbled over to Gideon and knelt before him.

"I'm fine," said Gideon weakly, "although I think Fawkes is quite attached to me. He's crying on me."

"Idiot," said Lilac with a small laugh, "phoenix tears are the only cure for Basilisk venom."

Once Gideon's wound was completely healed, they all examined the dead Basilisk. Gideon walked over to it and started pulling out it's teeth, much to the others' collective disgust. He put them in a bag.

"We can't let Death Eaters get their hands on this," explained Gideon, "are you alright, Lilac?"

"I'll be fine. Let's just get out of here," she said. Sirius and Severus nodded in agreement. They all got back onto their brooms, Lilac on Sirius's broom. Her broom had broken during the chaos. Lilac expected to face the dragons again but they seemed terrified of them for some reason, especially of her and Sirius.

"I'm guessing you're the one that hit the red one with Aguamenti?" Sirius asked amused. Lilac hummed in response. "These dragons hate water with a passion. I didn't notice until I saw how the red one shrunk away from the water."

"You're not as idiotic as I thought you were," said Lilac impressed by his observational skills.

"How mean of you to think so low of me," scoffed Sirius teasingly. Instead of shooting something sarcastic back at him, she rested her head against his back. His muscles stiffened but then relaxed at her touch. When they landed on the ground outside of the fence, Sanders was shocked and relieved that they were alive.

"Not many people can escape alive," said Sanders reassuringly. Lilac glanced at Sirius and they held back their laughter.

"Actually, we slayed the Basilisk," said Gideon much to the director's shock. His mouth dropped so low Lilac thought he'd need a nurse.

"You what?" Sanders asked dumbly. Gideon chuckled and shook his head. He then turned around to look at the three of them. He examined Severus's stiff stature and the scrapes and cuts on his arms, face, and legs. His blue eyes then trailed over to Sirius and Lilac. Sirius's arm was supporting Lilac as she couldn't walk on one leg.

"Let's get you all fixed up. Can you apparate, Lilac?" Gideon asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't think so," she said frowning. There was a screech and Fawkes flew over and landed on Gideon's head. Lilac's eyes lit up as she remembered an essential piece of information. "Phoenixes can carry four people. Hold on, Fawkes, can you bring us to the Burrow?"

The bird squawked at her happily and landed on her shoulder.

"Brightest witch of our generation," murmured Sirius with a smirk. Lilac rolled her eyes and glared at him. She hated being called that has it raised everyone's expectations about her. She was a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw. She'd rather people praise her for her bravery and not her intelligence.

"Everyone grab on," instructed Lilac. They all grabbed onto a feather and suddenly they disappeared in a flash of white and red. When the light dimmed they were in the familiar crowded and cluttered burrow.

"Gideon? Lilac! Merilin! What happened to you two?" Molly cried as she ran over to the four of them. She guided Lilac over to a couch and made her sit down as she inspected her wounds. "Did you four have a run in with Death Eaters?"

"No, we faced a couple dragons and a basilisk," said Gideon casually.

"With three kids?! You must be out of your mind!" Molly shriek as she hit her younger brother with her apron. Two little kids ran out of the kitchen and threw themselves at Lilac, much to Sirius and Severus surprise.

"Aunty Lilac!" yelled the oldest one.

"What happened to your hair?" asked the younger one as he reached up to touch the blonde ends.

"Hello to you too, Bill, Charlie. I got my hair dyed," answered Lilac amused.

"Alright you two, go find your dad. Now hold still, this might hurt," said Molly pointing her wand at Lilac. She grimaced as she felt her bones and skin being healed. It hurt more than getting injured.

"Thank Molly," she said as she walked around the couch to see if her leg was healed. Sirius was healed next and then Severus.

"I should get going," said Severus clearing his throat.

"Right, I'll see you in September," she said surprising him but holding out her hand. Slowly and hesitantly, he shook her hand. "I'd hug you but we're no where close enough for that yet. Thanks for helping today, you were pretty brave for a Slytherin."

He scowled and pulled his arm away, acting as if her words didn't make him feel incredibly proud of himself.

"Tell Lily I said hello," he said falling behind his protective walls. He wasn't going to let Lilac get too close to him. That would end up horribly considering the dark mark burning on his left forearm. Without a word to anyone else, he left.

"Well he was very warm," commented Molly. Sirius and Lilac laughed at that. The idea of Severus being affectionate was completely unimaginable. Molly and Sirius talked for a bit as they had never met before. Sirius was raised to believe that the Weasleys and Prewetts were blood-traitors like the Potters, which made him even more excited to be in the presence of both the Weasleys and the Prewetts.

"Hold on, Sirius, how did you know where we were?" Lilac asked frowning.

"I went to your house and Lily told me you went with Gideon. I knew you and my brother were talking so I asked him for your location," said Sirius with a shrug.

"Petunia didn't see you, did she?" Lilac asked mildly distressed.

"Of course she did," said Sirius frowning. He didn't understand why she was making such a big deal.

"I'm sorry Molly, I'll have to visit you another time," said Lilac hastily.

"Of course dear, your sisters must be worried," said Molly understanding. She ran into the kitchen and brought out a basket full of little pastries and pies. "Take these with you. You're too thin. I told you to feed her, Gideon."

"Hurry up and take the basket before Molly attacks me," chuckled Gideon shrinking away from his older sister. Lilac laughed and gratefully took the basket before giving Bill and Charlie a hug. "I'll hold on to the sword and hat for now."

Arthur walked out holding Percy.

"Lilac! How nice to see you again!" Arthur said surprised.

"Hello Arthur, Percy. I really do need to go now though," she said apologetically. Sirius took the basket from her and grabbed her arm.

"I'll go with you," he said with a grin. Lilac rolled her eyes and apparated away. When she arrived, Sirius was still by her side, cheekily holding the basket. Vernon's sports car was in the driveway and she knew that Petunia was worrying her head off.

"Lilac!" Petunia exclaimed when they walked into the house. Lily's head shot up and gave her a look of relief. Petunia left Vernon's side to hug her youngest sibling. "Where were you? What happened? Why do you smell like smoke?"

"I ran into a small issue. I'm alright though, Sirius saved me," said Lilac with a reassuring smile. "Were you and Vernon about to go on a date?"

"Yes, we were. Would you like to join us for dinner?" Petunia asked glancing at Sirius who was standing behind her. He was still holding the basket and was raising an eyebrow at Vernon.

"I wouldn't want to intrude on the two of you," said Lilac shaking her head.

"You can bring your boyfriend," said Vernon eyeing Sirius, "it's about time I met him."

"He's not my—"

"Great, so dinner?" Sirius asked interrupting Lilac. He winked at her flabbergasted expression and wrapped an arm around her waist. The feeling was nostalgic and she found herself wishing they actually were still dating.

"I'll bring the basket to the kitchen," said Lily quietly.

"Are you coming, Lily? I can call James over for you," said Sirius cheekily. Lily shot him a glare and left the living room.

"Perhaps the two of you should get changed into something nicer," suggested Petunia eying the tears and rips in their clothing.

"Right, come on, Sirius," said Lilac pulling her best friend up the stairs. Once they were behind closed doors she immediately started hitting him. "What was that for?! Now they're going to think we're dating!"

"Oh come on," said Sirius with a chuckle, "it's funny."

"You're horrible," she grumbled, "just don't mention anything about magic. Vernon doesn't know anything. Petunia and Vernon are really important to me so please don't be a jackass and make them mad at me."

"Don't worry, Vix. I'll be a good boy," he said winking at her before apparating off, presumably to get changed. Lilac sighed and went through her closet. Just as she slipped on her off shoulder red dress, he apparated back wearing a button down shirt and black slacks.

"Zip it up for me, will you?" Lilac asked holding the dress up so it wouldn't fall. She felt his hands pinch the cloth around the zipper and his hands gently caressed her bare back as he pulled the zipper up. "I know you were doing that on purpose."

"You're irresistible, Vix," he said chuckling guiltily. They walked down the stairs and out to the driveway. Petunia wore a long pale blue dress and Vernon wore a business suit. He had obviously just come from work. Lilac sincerely hoped that Sirius wasn't joking when he said that he would behave.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

It turned out that Lilac didn't need to worry. Sirius was eager to learn about the muggle world and didn't mind listening to Vernon talk for most of the time. Vernon was ecstatic when Sirius asked about his sports car.

"Thank god you picked someone who wouldn't make Vernon angry," mumbled Petunia while the boys talked, "but why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"I don't. He's not actually my boyfriend," whispered Lilac glancing at Sirius and Vernon. Petunia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she shook her head.

"So, what are you planning to do after you graduate?" Vernon inquired after he finished talking about his job.

"I'm not quite sure. I've collected a large inheritance from my uncle so I've been apartment hunting," said Sirius casually. Lilac's eyes shot to him, surprised. He had never mentioned this to her before. She thought that the Black family disowned him.

"Ah, where are you planning to live?" Petunia asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. Where you like to live, love?" Sirius asked looking at Lilac. She glared at the boy next to her. She like to live somewhere far away from him.

"London," she said delicately, "ever since I was little I've always wanted to live in the big city."

"You always wanted to be famous," reminisced Petunia with a small laugh.

"I thought mum and dad would notice if their daughter was famous," said Lilac with a shrug. She said it light-heartedly but there was a lot of tension. Petunia pursed her lips and Lilac looked at her hands. Sirius grabbed her hand and squeezed it comfortingly. She remembered ranting to Sirius about her parents during her third year. He understood her well.

"Well, they've noticed you now," said Vernon with a small smile, "I hear you're quite the top student?"

"Of course she's the top student," said Sirius grinning at her.

"I'd rather not be noticed. It makes me so angry every time they favor the better daughter. Why can't they just treat us all equally?" Lilac asked exasperatedly. That spurred Petunia and Lilac into a passionate conversation about their parents. Sirius engaged Vernon in a conversation over motorcycles.

Once dinner was over, Vernon drove Petunia back home. Sirius wanted to talk to Lilac for a while. She knew exactly what he was going to ask and she didn't know what to tell him. There was no way he would forget about what happened. When Sirius apparated them outside the Potter Manor, she knew he was going to yell at her.

"Why did you and Gideon go Basilisk hunting?" Sirius asked frowning. "I know it wasn't for fun. Snivellus was there. This was why you were meeting up with him and Regulus wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It was," said Lilac quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sirius asked angrily. His grey eyes were dark and stormy. She had seen him angry before but not like this. He was _furious_. "You could've died today! You almost died today!"

"I didn't want to tell you because you seemed so happy for once!" Lilac blurted. He stared at her in disbelief. "After what happened with your family and everything, I didn't want to tell you because you deserve to be happy!"

"Why would telling me that you were going basilisk hunting make me not happy?" Sirius asked confused.

"Because the reason why we killed the basilisk is a lot darker than you'd think, Sirius. Why do you think I broke it off between us? I'm so paranoid that one day someone's going to find out and kill me. It feels like I'm being crushed under the weight of responsibility and I'm drowning in it," she said falling apart. Lilac wanted to tell someone this so much and now that she was getting it off her chest she felt a lot better. Sirius grabbed her hands and looked at her.

"I can handle it," he said determinedly, "let me help you. Just tell me what's going on, Lilac. Please."

"Not here," she said looking around, "we're not inside the safety of the Potter Manor yet."

"Alright, we can talk in your room," said Sirius as they walked into the large Manor. It was late so the Potters were all asleep. Once in her room, she placed a muffling charm and took out her book.

"This book belonged to Herpo the Foul. He created something called a Horcrux. It's when you split your soul and place it in an object. It makes you practically immortal."

"You're not trying to make one are you?" Sirius asked warily.

"No," she scoffed, "but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did. He made five horcruxes. And there's only two known ways to destroy them. Basilisk venom and Fiendfyre."

"So that's why you went basilisk hunting," said Sirius in realization, "you're trying to destroy You-Know-Who. How… How do you know about his horcruxes in the first place? We were at Hogwarts when you got that book."

"Sirius, you can't tell anyone about this," said Lilac quietly. Sirius nodded and leaned in closer to her. "Severus joined the Death Eaters to spy on them."

"He what?!" Sirius exclaimed sharply. "Is he trying to get killed? How do you know he's really on our side anyways?"

"Would he help me with the basilisk if he wasn't on our side?" Lilac asked annoyed that Sirius's grudge against Severus made him immediately doubt the Slytherin. "He's been able to figure out what the horcruxes were and where they were located. We currently have one. Regulus and Dumbledore are trying to get another."

"I can't believe you let my brother know about this but not me," said Sirius with a disappointed tone. Lilac bit her lip and looked away. The sound of blankets rustling made her look up. He was leaning over towards her, his weight being supported by his arms.

"What are you doing?" Lilac asked nervously. He smirked and moved towards her.

"Your dress reminds me of what you wore on my birthday. It was red and had a bow, right here," he said lowly as his fingers grazed her exposed collarbone. Her cheeks turned the shade of her dress and hair and she pushed against his chest. Sirius caught her wrist and kept her left hand on his chest.

"Sirius, stop it," she said pressing her lips together.

"You said the reason why we're not together anymore is because you couldn't tell me about the horcruxes. I know about them now so why don't we try again?" Sirius murmured. He pulled her hand off his chest and kissed the tips of her fingers. "If you don't want me anymore… I'll leave."

Her breath caught in her throat and she pulled her hand away from his mouth. Disappointment and hurt flashed through his face before Lilac placed her hand at the back of his head and pulled him down so their lips connected. Sirius immediately pushed her backwards so she was lying on the bed and kissed her ferociously. She tugged on his hair and he groaned into her mouth.

"Godric, you're killing me," he growled. Lilac smiled at him before pushing him off of her and turning onto her side so she wasn't facing him.

"Night Padfoot," she hummed.

"You're kidding me," he gasped with wide eyes, "you-you can't just do that to me!"

"I'm tired," she said with a shrug. He gave her a look of disbelief before pressing feathery kisses on her shoulders and neck. Lilac reached behind her and smacked him away. " _Good night_ , Sirius."

* * *

James found them the next morning tangled up with each other. At first he was excited as it looked like his best friends had hooked up together but then he noticed that they were both wearing clothes and sulked in disappointment.

"Wake up love birds!" James yelled jumping on the bed.

"Fuck off, Prongs," mumbled Sirius burying himself into Lilac's red hair. Lilac pushed him away and sat up groggily. Her dress was crumpled up and her lipstick smeared. With a sigh, she dragged herself out of bed and into her bathroom.

"So what happened yesterday?" James asked curiously. "Sirius all of the sudden got cuts and stuff."

"What?" Lilac asked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't know what the ring does?" Sirius asked frowning. She told him she didn't and he groaned. "I'll explain it to you another time."

"We're going apartment hunting for Pads today, you want to come with us?" James asked lounging on her bed.

"Sure!" she said before turning on the shower. Since she didn't bring any clothes she walked out with a towel wrapped around her. "Can you boys leave while I get changed?"

Sirius chuckled and winked at her before dragging James out. Lilac threw on a shirt and shorts before finding the boys sitting in the living room talking to Fleamont and Euphemia Potter. They were a bit surprised to see her.

"I didn't know you stayed over," said Euphemia standing up to give her a hug, "how've you been?"

"Great," she replied, "we're going to help Sirius hunt for a flat."

"Will you three be back for lunch?" Fleamont asked as he put down the Daily Prophet. Lilac bit her lip when she saw the headlines. More muggles and muggleborns dead. She wondered if the Death Eaters even felt any remorse.

"Not likely," said Sirius standing up, "James and I didn't come back for lunch last time. Plus, if I'm to be living somewhere I'd want to see how the food is there."

"Of course you would," chuckled Fleamont amused.

"You have to come for dinner every friday however," said Euphemia firmly. Sirius nodded and he grabbed Lilac's arm. James grabbed her other arm and they disapparated. Lilac's eyebrows raised when she found herself in London.

"You definitely did this on purpose," she accused, turning to Sirius. He grinned at her cheekily and pinched her bottom while James wasn't looking. Just like she expected, Sirius was an indecisive bloke and every apartment he looked at wasn't good enough for him. The three ended up going to get lunch at a little coffee shop near Albert bridge.

"It's going to be our last year at Hogwarts," sighed James. Lilac bit her lip at the realization. She had been so caught up with the basilisk and horcruxes that she didn't take the time to really think about what she wanted to do over the summer and their last year.

"I think I'm going to turn down my potions apprenticeship," said Lilac surprising the other two boys.

"What?" they gasped.

"My entire Hogwarts life had been revolving around the prospect of being an auror," she explained, "it's been my end goal since the day I learned what an auror was. Maybe I won't exactly be an auror but the reason why that path was something I wanted was because I could help fight and save people."

"You can save people by being a potioneer," pointed out Sirius.

"My place is on the battlefield," she said giving him a look.

"Don't turn it down yet. Wait until after graduation," suggested James. Lilac nodded and he seemed to deflate in his seat. "This year I'm going to grow up a bit."

"James Fleamont Potter? Grow up?" Lilac asked laughing.

"I'm serious!"

"No, I'm Sirius, you're James. You know, immature arrogant toerag James?" Sirius asked smirking.

"That too, I'm moving on from Lily."

Lilac choked on her coffee and hit Sirius's arm repeatedly as she tried not to die. Sirius was in his own state of shock as he just stared at his best friend in disbelief. James looked exasperated that they couldn't seem to believe him.

"But you two are meant to be together!" Lilac exclaimed upset. "You were supposed to be my brother-in-law! I don't want Severus as an in-law."

"It's been years, if she liked me even a little bit she would've shown it by now," he said with a sigh, "I'm not going to waste my life away chasing after someone who won't even give me the time of day."

"About time, Prongs," said Sirius smiling. He never did like the older Evans twin considering the amount of trouble she had caused both his best friends. If Lily had been a bit more like Lilac personality wise she'd be able to see what a good person James was at heart.

"So you two are finally going to stop hexing poor kids?" Lilac asked smirking.

"I never said _I_ would," scoffed Sirius giving her a pointed look, "the first years need to get put in their place before they think they rule the world."

"Of course," she agreed dryly. After lunch, they went to a couple different places to see if he could find any flats he liked. Eventually they gave up for the day and went home. Lilac decided to stay for dinner, much to Euphemia's delight.

"You've always been like a daughter to me," sighed Euphemia happily, "it always feels so empty without you in here. The first time I saw you with James made me so happy. He needs a constant figure in his life to keep him from getting into trouble and you were exactly that. I always felt that we had spoiled him a bit too much but because of you he turned out fine."

"I wouldn't say that, he's still an arrogant idiot," she said with a flattered chuckle.

"And that too. You were such a shy little girl five years ago. Now you're all grown up and you're so witty. You make me so proud all the time and I'm glad that I've been able to watch you grow up," Euphemia giving her a hug.

"Don't make me cry," said Lilac jokingly, "you're more of a mother to me than my own."

"I don't know whether that makes me happy or concerned."

"Mum! Dad broke a vase!" James yelled.

"Are you sure it wasn't you?" Euphemia asked rushing out to the hall where Fleamont, James, and Sirius were huddled around a broken vase. Lilac rolled her eyes, knowing that Fleamont Potter and James Potter were both the same.

"I've got to go back home now. My parents must be wondering where I am," said Lilac as they cleaned up the broken vase.

"You'll visit right?" Sirius asked frowning. "If you don't we'll visit you."

"Oh please don't. Tuney's had to deal with enough wizards," sighed Lilac giving them an apologetic look, "and I don't think my mum would know what to do if you two start accidentally knocking things over."

"Come around for dinner every once and awhile, alright dear?" Euphemia asked with a smile. "The Potter Manor is always going to have a room for you."

"Thanks Euphemia," she said gratefully before disapparating. Her mom and dad still haven't gotten over her apparition abilities so she decided to apparate outside and walk in through the door. Her family was in the dining room, eating dinner.

"Lilac, have you had dinner?" her dad questioned when she walked in.

"I had dinner with the Potters. If you'll excuse me I'd like to get some sleep after a long day," said Lilac giving Petunia a smile. When she walked into her room, she found the Sword of Gryffindor on her bed. A note was tied to the hilt.

 _The Sword of Gryffindor presents itself to a true Gryffindor. You should hold onto this until further notice. -Albus P. Dumbledore_

She bit her lip and carefully picked it up. She examined the silver blade for a couple minutes before wrapping it up in one of her old blankets and placing it at the bottom of her trunk. They'd have to see if the sword could destroy the Hufflepuff cup horcrux.

* * *

Near the end of July, Sirius managed to find a flat in Manchester. It was small but definitely big enough for one person to live in. There was a master bedroom, two guestrooms, a master bathroom, a guest bathroom, a large kitchen, and a living room.

Lilac would spend August switching from staying at her house, the Potter Manor, and Sirius's flat. Her parents didn't mind as they were used to not seeing her very often. Whenever they were having visitors over however, she was required to be there. Petunia got engaged to Vernon, much to everyone but Lily's delight.

Lily was much more civil with Petunia than the years before. She stayed out of Petunia's way and Petunia stayed out of her way. She spent a lot of her time at Marlene McKinnon's house. Occasionally, Lilac and Lily would be forced to spend lunch alone together.

"This year I'm not going to start any fights with Potter. I want us to be civil since it's our last year," announced Lily. Her younger twin raised her eyebrows. Lilac's eyes were even brighter and her hair had grown out longer. The blonde tips were gone and Lily wondered what her reckless sister would do next.

"James isn't bad," said Lilac for the thousandth time, "he just doesn't know how to act around you. Sometimes he can be a real idiot but he always means well. You just need to give him an actual chance."

"I said I would be civil with him, not fall for him," shot Lily frowning.

"I didn't mean that. Anyways, he said he was going to move on," said Lilac shrugging, "he's tired of chasing after you. I don't blame him, you've said some harsh things to him over the last six years of our life."

"Thank Merlin he's going to leave me alone," said Lily with a relieved sigh. Lilac could read her sister however, and noticed a slight sliver of disappointment. "I know that we've never actually gotten along very well, but this year I really want to try."

"Alright then, truce?" Lilac asked holding out a hand. "If you can be civil with my friends then I'll spend at least two nights in our dorms and we can fix up our relationship. We are family after all."

The two sisters shook hands and suddenly James and Sirius apparated into the house, scaring the two witches half to death.

"Hey Lilac!" James yelled running over and hooking his arm around her neck and ruffling her hair. "Your hair's getting so long, are you going to get it cut anytime soon? It's getting harder to mess up."

"Why are you guys here? I visited you guys yesterday," whined Lilac as she pushed the hazel-eyed boy away.

"We're having dinner at my flat, the six of us," said Sirius grinning. Lilac furrowed her eyebrows.

"Six?"

"Lily's coming with us," answered Sirius smirking. Lily's jaw dropped in surprise.

"I am?"

"Oh, hi Lily," said James in a quieter voice. Lilac nudged him in the ribs and he glared at her before nudging her back. Lilac jabbed him with more strength and soon they were pushing each other.

"They haven't grown up at all," said Lily to no one in particular. The little skirmish came to an end when Sirius grabbed Lilac's arm and pulled her towards him. James ended up pushing at air and nearly tripped onto his face.

"Alright, let's go. Lily, side-apparate with James," said Sirius before noticing the look of distaste on her face, "because you don't know where my flat is. James moved on, Evans, you don't need to worry about his flirting."

Lilac apparated into Sirius's flat before Lily could hear her snickers. When she arrived, Remus and Peter were already cooking in the kitchen. She threw herself on Peter's back and scared the poor boy.

"Lilac!" Peter exclaimed relieved when he saw her face. Remus laughed and Peter started parading her through the living room. James apparated in with Lily and Sirius followed right after them.

"How's dinner going, Moony?" James asked walking over to Remus.

"Well, Prongs. Although it won't be if you let Vix in here," answered Remus giving Lilac a grin.

"She's absolutely brilliant at everything but cooking," chuckled Sirius throwing on an apron.

"That's because I lived with people who can cook. I never had to cook for myself," defended Lilac sticking her tongue out at him, "plus, I can just move in with you and have you cook for me."

"That sounds tempting," said Sirius winking at her. Lilac rolled her eyes and let go of Peter, falling onto the red couch. Lily felt a bit awkward in the living room as they all seemed to be at home. The five definitely spent a lot of time there and they had lived in the same dorm for six years. She felt like an intruder.

"Tomorrow's our last day of summer. We're supposed to get our letters today," said James sitting on the couch next to Lilac and putting his feet up on the table. Lilac immediately smacked him on the back of his head.

"Feet off. I picked this table out, you're not going to dirty it up," she scolded.

"Vix, come here," called Sirius. Lilac jumped onto her feet and walked over to Sirius who fed her a piece of steak. "What do you think? Good? Or did I not put enough seasoning? I put less salt this time."

"It's hot," complained Lilac fanning her mouth. Sirius laughed and got another piece, cooling it down by blowing on it, and fed it to her. She thought about it for a moment before grinning. "It's good."

Lily was jealous. She had always been jealous of Lilac but now she wished that someone would look at her the way Sirius looked at her sister. James apparently had moved on from her and judging by how he didn't shower her with love, he probably did. Not that she liked him back, right? Sirius and Lilac weren't dating but it was clear that there was something there. Eventually maybe they'd admit their feelings but for now everyone would try to push the two together.

When they were still kids and didn't know about the Wizarding World, she had so many friends at school and was always called the smartest student. Lily wondered if that was why Lilac grew up disliking her. Considering the amount of jealousy she felt for her younger twin, she didn't blame her.

"How do you like your steak, Evans?" Sirius asked looking over at her. He looked ridiculously handsome in an apron with his curly black hair pulled back in a small bun and a metal spatula in hand.

"Medium-well," she answered before Peter laughed.

"Prongs likes it medium-well too," he said making James glare at him.

"Yeah well so does Moony," grumbled James crossing his arms.

"But occasionally I like it blue-rare," said Remus casually as he cooked the spaghetti and made the sauce. Lilac sniggered and Remus gave her a smirk and a wink, making her burst into laughter. Peter and Sirius also couldn't help themselves and started laughing uncontrollably. Lily stared at them a bit dumbfounded. She knew they had a million inside jokes but they always seemed to be the weirdest things.

"That can't be healthy," she muttered while they laughed.

"Remus eats so much chocolate that a bloody steak isn't even going to give him a stomach ache," said James with a chuckle. Lily stared at his smile, wondering how she never noticed how sweet and lopsided it was.

"That's right, chocolate!" Lilac exclaimed as she walked over to Remus and put her hand in his front pockets. Remus didn't even look fazed as she pulled out a bar of chocolate from his pant pockets and started eating it.

"Don't ruin your appetite, love," teased Sirius.

"Don't start talking like Euphemia, _Snuffles_ ," she shot back. He made an offended noise and glared at her. She giggled and walked back over to sit next to James. Lily's eyes widened in surprise when Lilac offered her a piece of chocolate.

"Thanks," said Lily taking the piece. James tried to break off another piece but she held it out of reach.

"Why don't I get one?" James whined.

"Lily's my twin," answered Lilac as she wrapped the chocolate bar back up in the foil and tossed it at Remus who caught the bar with ease. Peter brought out a deck of exploding snap and the three that weren't cooking played.

"Dinner's done," announced Remus as he took off his apron. They all gathered around the table and sat down. At the round table, Sirius sat down next to Lilac. Lily was on the other side, and Remus sat down next to her. Peter was next to Remus and James was in between Sirius and Peter.

"This is really good," complimented Lily as she bit into her steak. Sirius only kept surprising her with his abilities. Without James proclaiming his love for her, she could finally realize why her sister liked them so much. Remus, she'd always been friendly with. Lily had always thought that Peter was a little pathetic following the others around but after talking to him, she realized that he did have his own ambitions in life and was a Gryffindor in his own way.

Sirius and James were to most surprising. They were still arrogant idiots, but they were sweet loyal idiots. Sirius was always the most reckless out of the five and he seemed to act before thinking. Anyone would assume he was a bad student and a charismatic jerk. In reality, the way he acted was almost endearing. He was the one who kept the mood happy and playful.

James wasn't as much of a toerag as she had thought. He was a better behaved version of Sirius, yet a more childish one. The strangest questions spewed out of his mouth and he was a bit of an awkward person. James covered up his awkwardness with his arrogance and charm however.

"Our letters are here," gasped Lilac as owls flew in. A letter was placed in front of each person and they all eagerly opened them. Lily furrowed her eyebrows when she found the Head Girl badge in her envelope.

"I… I think I got your letter," said Lily handing the Head Girl badge to her twin.

"No! You're the Head Girl!" Lilac exclaimed happily. She grinned at her older sister and pushed the badge towards her. "Congratulations, Lily!"

"But you're a prefect, shouldn't you be Head Girl?" Peter asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"No, I've got enough going on this year. I didn't want the title of Head Girl added down on it," she explained. James was silent as he took out the Head Boy badge and placed it on the table in front of him.

"Fuck no," blurted Sirius, "the school's going to get blown up if you're head boy. We've got to warn everyone."

They burst into laughter and James shook his head mirthfully. Lily however, was shocked and wondered what the hell Dumbledore was doing. Surely it was a mistake, making James the Head Boy. Lilac obviously didn't want to be Head Girl which made Lily receiving the title make sense, but Remus looked disappointed that he wasn't appointed Head Boy.

"Let's go to Diagon Alley tomorrow," suggested James reading his letter. They all agreed and started cleaning up the dirty dishes. Lily looked around and examined all the people in the apartment. Lilac and James were throwing soap suds at each other, Sirius was clanging pots and pans, Peter was trying to help James, and Remus was reading while sitting on the kitchen counter. A small smile formed on her lips as she watched the chaos. Their seventh year was definitely going to be a memorable one.

* * *

 _AN #3, Lily and James' relationship is going to develop more along with Lily and Lilac's!_

 _I'm also really sorry for not having an update for last week. My parents are very spontaneous with their trips. They always tell me last minute. Apparently we're going to the beach tomorrow and they didn't tell me until dinner._

 _Another important note is that I'm having trouble write the story. I know what direction I want this story to go and the details but I'm lacking the motivation to write. No worries though, I have a couple more chapters already written and the chapter I'm stuck on is a few pages from completion. I'm determined to finish what I've started, even if updates slow._

 _My writing is constantly improving and changing so I'll most likely go back and edit the story and improve it. I'm reading everyone's comments and trying to fix any mistakes I've made._


	12. Chapter Twelve

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Considering it would be the last welcome party the Marauders would be able to throw, they decided to go all out. James and Sirius were obviously in charge of planning it and Lilac spread the word. Remus and Peter were in charge of dealing with any wary professors and Lily just had to turn a blind eye.

"Enjoying the party?" Lilac asked as she walked over to her sister. Lily held a glass of butterbeer and stood by the wall, watching people sing and dance. Normally she'd skip these types of events and study.

"It's interesting. Does he always act like that?" Lily asked as James jumped across the common room on it's furniture. It was as if the floor was a forbidden surface and he'd die if he touched it.

"Sometimes he decides to climb up the tapestries, it's amusing, really," said Lilac with a laugh. Lily had to admit, the boy looked like an utter fool but it was one of his more lovable traits. Sirius was standing on a large table hyping up the party and Remus was making sure no one spiked the non-alcoholic beverages.

"I really judged them too soon, didn't I?" Lily asked feeling guilty for every harsh and undeserved word she had uttered against the boys.

"Maybe, but they don't mind," said Lilac reading her sister's expression. She gasped as Sirius grabbed her wrist and whirled her onto the dance floor. There was barely any time for her to give Lily an apologetic look before a glass of firewhisky was pressed into her hand and an arm wrapped itself around her waist.

"You're looking lovely tonight," he said with a smirk.

"Don't I always?" Lilac challenged as she danced with him. Sirius chuckled and looked around the common room. The first years had looked terrified at the beginning but were now enjoying themselves. Remus, of course, made sure they didn't get access to the alcoholic drinks.

"And they call me egoistic," scoffed Sirius teasingly.

"Well they're right."

Sirius nearly choked on his drink when Lilac's hand started to trail down his torso. She laughed and pulled away, walking over to where Remus was. The poor werewolf was busy trying to keep the refreshments table under control.

"Drink?" Remus offered as he held up an empty glass.

"No, I think I'll head out for some fresh air," said Lilac setting the glass of firewhisky Sirius gave her down. Remus nodded but grabbed her arm before she could leave. He tilted his head down to talk in her ear.

"You've been acting strange last year. Just remember that we're always going to be here for you. If you want to tell us something, please do," said Remus before letting her go. Lilac nodded and she went out. The night sky was cool and it quickly woke her senses. After the battle with the basilisk and all her run ins with Death Eaters, she couldn't seem to be able to stay in a suffocated space with many people for too long.

Lilac leaned against the large window and pushed the glass open. A cool breeze blew the scent of alcohol away and left just the scent of trees and woodlands. Hearing a footstep behind her, she whirled around and pointed her wand at the intruder. Sirius didn't look surprised to find her wand at his throat.

"Feeling better?" Sirius mumbled as he swatted her wand to the side. He was used to her new reflexes. Actually, he'd be worried if she didn't have them. There was no doubt Lilac would be getting herself into danger again and he wanted to be sure that she could defend and protect herself.

"Much," she said turning back to look outside, "you don't have to come out here."

"I'd follow you into fifty Basilisk pits if I had to," he responded before taking out a cigarette and a lighter. Lilac looked at it in disgust and frowned. She had made her distaste for his new habit clear but he found it relaxing.

"You're going to destroy your lungs," she said softly as he lit it.

"I'm a wizard, I can just drink a Chelidonium Miniscula potion," he said breathing out a puff of smoke.

"That's incredibly difficult to brew! You only got an Exceeds Expectations last year because I helped you," she said shaking her head.

"I never said I'd make it love," said Sirius amused, "you're the potions prodigy Slughorn always talks about."

"Actually the prodigy is me _and_ Severus."

Sirius hummed in response and they looked outside, staring at the calm forest and the clear night sky. It was hard to believe that in a year they would never look through this window again. It made being there feel bittersweet.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Sirius asked quietly. "You're going to find the rest of the horcruxes?"

"Yeah, there's no other way," she said leaning out the window.

"Careful, you look like you're going to fall out," mused Sirius placing an arm around her waist. "This year, let me join you. I don't want to let you put yourself in danger alone."

"I'm not alone. There's Severus and Reggie," she said smirking at the older Black brother's expression. He made a face at the nickname she called Regulus and started blowing smoke rings.

"They're absolute shit at spell work," he sighed, "if you were facing ten Death Eaters they'd be the first to die."

"Actually," corrected Lilac, "I would. You-Know-Who wouldn't let any pureblood go to waste, would he?"

Sirius stared at her intently and pulled the cigarette away from his mouth before giving her a shotgun kiss, letting the smoke travel from his mouth to her's. It was a strange feeling and Lilac wound her hands through his curls. When they broke apart, wisps of smoke faded into the night air.

"Still feel the same about smoking?" Sirius asked smirking at her dumbfounded expression.

"Shut up," she said before walking back into the common room. Sirius laughed and followed after her. They quickly walked through the party and made their way up to the dorm. Both were shocked when they saw James snogging a sixth year Hufflepuff.

"What the fuck?" Sirius asked flicking his wand so that the boy's curtains were closed.

"Shit," cursed Lilac rushing out of the boys' dorm and running up to the girls'. There, Lily was crying into her pillow. Lilac sighed and sat down on her bed next to the girl. Lily rolled over and hugged her younger sister. "Oh Lily."

"I don't even know why I'm crying. I hate him! I don't even like him!" Lily exclaimed. "But when he… when he…"

"Lily, you've liked him since our fifth year. I know you've been trying to tell yourself you don't like him but because of that you've lost him," said Lilac grabbing a tissue, "maybe it's just a one-night stand. You might still have a chance Lily. He's in love with you, no matter what he says, he's still in love with you."

"Thank you," she said as she stopped crying. At first, the hug was awkward because Lilac wasn't used to hugging Lily. It was just like hugging Petunia however, so she slowly relaxed. "What do I do now?"

"Well, first you have to admit that you like him," said Lilac smirking, "James's charm finally grew on you."

"I'm not telling him that I like him!" Lily exclaimed, bewildered at the idea of it.

"I'm not telling you to tell him, I'm telling you, to tell yourself. You've hated James for so long that it's drilled into your mind," said Lilac rolling her eyes, "even if you had a crush on him you'd act like you didn't."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"You don't mind breaking the rules a little bit, do you?"

Lily gave her a stern look and Lilac rolled her eyes. She opened up her trunk and ruffled through before she found James's Quidditch jumper and threw it at Lily. Lilac took out Sirius's and put it on.

"Where did you get these from? You're not on the Quidditch team," said Lily as she put the one Lilac gave her on.

"That's James's. I'm wearing Sirius's," said Lilac with a sly smile. Lily's cheeks dusted pink and Lilac snuck into the boys' dorm without anyone seeing her and got James's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map. It didn't take a lot of stealth as James was still snogging the Hufflepuff. Lilac knew that if she stayed any longer she'd hex somebody. She wasn't sure if it would be the Hufflepuff or James.

"An invisibility cloak?!" Lily practically screeched. "Is that how you five get around the school without getting caught? Does the teachers know? That's not illegal is it? Merlin's beard, where did you get that from?!"

"It's a Potter heirloom, James lets me use it," said Lilac with a shrug. She pulled the fabric over her and Lily before they slowly made their way through the party. Sirius was walking around with a frown, obviously trying to find her. Once outside, Lilac unfolded the map and tapped it with her wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Lily's awed gasps filled Lilac with pride as years of hard work appeared on the parchment like ink spreading through water. As expected crowds of names were found in the Gryffindor common room. There were more names in the other common rooms but their main focus was the professors walking around.

"Did you make this?" Lily asked. "Your nickname, Vixen, was on the front."

"Yeah. It took so long but we did it," she said with a nod.

"You five are bloody insane. You guys are such arrogant idiots that have way too big egos but at the same time… you bunch are brilliant," said Lily, the end of her sentence being spoken in a soft whisper. Lilac smiled to herself and brought her to the passageway into Honeydukes.

"You can't tell anyone about this, alright?" Lilac asked seriously.

"I won't," promised Lily. Normally she wouldn't make such reckless promises but she had vowed to try and be a better sister. Right now, her little sister was sharing a secret with her and she wanted to keep it.

"Right, this goes to Hogsmeade," said Lilac opening the passageway.

"You found one of the secret passageways?" Lily asked in shock. The five certainly did a whole lot more in their six years of school than Lily had initially thought. Then again, all Lily thought they did was make trouble and get detention.

"Actually, Remus found this one. Shocking, I know. We were messing around and Remus was practicing charms. He said the password right when we were in front of the statue, opening the passageway."

"That's… incredibly good timing."

Lilac laughed and soon they found themselves in Hogsmeade. She quickly brought Lily to a large cliff which stood in the middle of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. You could see both the village and the castle.

"No one can hear you up here," informed Lilac, "feel free to yell out whatever you'd like. Get it out of your system."

"Are you sure no one can hear?" Lily asked unsure.

"Don't doubt me, Lily," said Lilac with a smile. She walked up to the edge of the cliff and cupped her hands around her mouth before shouting, "everything Sirius Black does makes him a fucking prat but he's still extremely lovable!"

Lily laughed stared at her sister with newfound admiration. The two were definitely different. Lilac was shorter by an inch or so, her frame small but lean. Sirius's Quidditch jumper hung on her as it was far too big. Their personalities were different too. Lily grew up thinking Lilac was an arrogant bully because she was friends with James and Sirius. Now that she was actually getting to know her, Lily realized that Lilac would go out of her way to make people laugh if they were feeling down.

"I hate cheese!" Lily yelled randomly, just to test it out. It feel strange and she looked back at Lilac to see her smiling at her encouragingly. "I like to read! And… and I like James Potter!"

"But he's a fucking idiot!" Lilac added in her own yell. "So us Evans twins are going to teach him a lesson!"

"We are?" Lily asked confused.

"James may have told me he was going to move on but he needs to learn that I'm not the only vixen," said Lilac with a wink. Lily had a bad feeling about what her younger twin was planning. It could end well however, as there was no one who knew James Potter better than Lilac.

* * *

"This has got to be another one of your pranks," said Lily as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hands were pulling her skirt down as much as she could and it took all her self control to not pull up the low neckline of her shirt.

"Relax, Lily. The skirt's mid-thigh and the neckline isn't even low enough to show anything," said Lilac rolling her eyes, "you dress like McGonagall."

"She's right," chimed Marlene from her bed, "although Lilac does have a good sense of style."

"I've practically grown up around boys. I know what they like," said Lilac with a shrug. Marlene smirked and she could see an idea forming in her head. It was probably Marlene trying to catch the attention of a cute Ravenclaw.

"And this isn't against the dress code?" Lily asked unsure.

"There's nothing on what you decide to wear under your robes. Trust me, Remus and I've read the rules quite thoroughly," said Lilac painting her nails white and gold. "You don't even need to wear robes today. It's Sunday."

"How can you be sure he'll even notice us in the stands?" Lily asked nervously playing with the hem of her skirt.

Marlene and Lily shared a glance when Lilac's lips tugged into a smirk. When a Marauder smirks, it means they have a plan. Whether or not it would be a good plan, no one would know. Lily didn't normally go watch the Quidditch try-outs but if she was going to get James's attention again… she'd have to sit through it.

"The boys are going to fight over who's jersey you're going to wear again," informed Remus when they arrived in the stands. He pointed at the two figures who were glaring at each other on their brooms. "They're supposed to arm wrestle but I don't think they'll settle for something that passive."

"Lily can wear James's jersey this year," suggested Lilac with a shrug. She saw Sirius glance at the stands and grin when he spotted her. The argument with James was cut short as he flew over to her.

"Isn't that my shirt, Vix?" Sirius questioned smugly as he eyed the large white dress shirt. His initials were embroidered onto the cuff of the sleeves, marking exactly who the shirt belonged to.

"I don't know anyone else who's initials are SOB," teased Lilac grinning. Just being in his presence made her overly happy and giddy. Their friends gave them looks as they thought that they were just friends with feelings for each other.

"Ah, only if you think of it that way," said Srius shrugging, "it could very well also mean Superb Outstanding Beater."

"Or it could mean Son Of a Bitch."

"Walburga is a bit of a bitch," agreed Sirius nodding. Lilac laughed and Sirius's lips curved upwards in a satisfied grin. James flew over, noticing how his best friend had lost interest in the tryouts.

"You're supposed to be helping me as co-captain," complained James as he nudged Sirius. His eyes scanned over Lilac and Remus before landing on Lily. Following what Lilac instructed, Lily tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and smiled at him. For a moment James forgot how to breath and his hand slipped off his broom.

"You alright mate?" Sirius asked amused as James composed himself.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm good," stuttered James, his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. He flew away faster than the seeker spotting a snitch. Lilac laughed and Lily also flushed red, noticing the boy's reaction.

"Damn, can you get Michael Quinte to react like that around me?" Marlene asked squeezing herself in between Remus and Lilac. "The boy's obviously head over heels for you, Lily."

"Prongs loves it when Lily smiles," said Remus casually, "he said that he'd buy an entire island to make her smile."

"I-I don't want an island," stammered Lily both flattered and alarmed.

"That's the thing about James," sighed Lilac leaning backwards, "he's swimming in money and hasn't had much experience finding happiness without spending money. I'd teach him a thing or two but I've already got one rich pureblood to deal with."

"Sirius is worse than Potter. He bought diamonds for me in our fourth year," said Marlene with a scoff. Lilac tried not to act like the topic of Sirius and Marlene's relationship didn't hurt. After all, Sirius had made it clear that they would never be together again. The fear that he would leave her was still there however.

Quidditch tryouts went well and it was obvious that the Gryffindor team would be hard to beat this year. Within a few minutes, the Marauders were all united. Sirius and James both babbled about Quidditch while the others had a conversation over school work.

"Has Slughorn attempted to recruit you into the Slug Club yet?" Marlene asked when they got closer to the school.

"Many, many, times," sighed Lilac shaking her head, "it's not that I don't want to join, I just don't have the time."

"The Slug Club is a waste of time," scoffed Sirius.

"That's because you didn't get invited," said Remus smirking, "apparently you aren't a bright enough student and haven't shown any potential in life."

"I'm smart," said Sirius defensively, "over the summer I studied charms with Vix."

"You read one page," deadpanned Lilac. James and Peter laughed at the face Sirius made. He looked utterly betrayed that she had revealed to everyone how little he had actually studied.

"That's because the new Charms professor Flitwick is teaching us absolute bullshit! Like it's such a useless class!" Sirius whined. "Only prunes like that class!"

"I like that class, you arse!" Lilac exclaimed as she hit him on the back of his head. Sirius winced and pouted.

"Prune."

The others watched amused as Lilac and Sirius bickered all the way into the Great Hall. A couple students were surprised to see Lily and Marlene sitting with the Marauders as the two had always complained about them before.

"Do people always stare?" Lily mumbled, tugging her skirt down a bit lower. Unlike the others, Lily prefered to stay out of the limelight. It was obvious that the Marauders held extremely good looks and they knew it too. Remus and Peter chose not to flaunt it but the other three used their looks to their advantage. The student body of Hogwarts either hated or loved them. Either way, they all knew who they were and some basic facts, as in who's in love with who, favorite colors, and favorite foods.

Gossip around the school traveled faster than the snitch on the pitch. If a Marauder started dating someone, the entire school would buzz with excitement and false rumors. Lily found it horrifying and pathetic. She couldn't understand why people followed them everywhere and why people couldn't just live their own lives and leave them alone. It was obvious that Remus, Peter, and even the other three didn't appreciate people snooping into their lives. Although Sirius and James seemed to enjoy the attention at times.

"If the way you dress makes you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to wear it," said James quietly, "don't force yourself to become someone you're not."

Lily blinked, letting the words process in her head. For a moment, she truly thought that she had just imagined James talking to her. After all, a few seconds later he was joking around with Sirius. It was the grin Lilac shot her that told her she hadn't imagined it. James had been observant enough to notice her discomfort and it made Lily feel warm inside.

"The new DADA teacher seems more jittery than usual, doesn't he?" Lilac asked as she glanced at the professors' table. The old white haired man shifted uncomfortably in his seat and his eyes darted around nervously.

"Can't blame him," said James shrugging, "no DADA professor has lasted more than a year."

"I doubt he'll last another month if he keeps this up," sighed Peter glancing at the man. Professor Burbell was a paranoid man and any mention of the dark side made him flip. Why Dumbledore hired this man, no one knew.

* * *

"Severus," she greeted as she sat down next to the Slytherin during potions. They had mutually agreed to remain potions again as they had worked well together the year before. That, and because of their horcrux quest.

"Lilac," he said as he cleared half of the workspace for her.

"How has Reggie been?" Lilac asked as she took out her book. Technically it belonged to Herpo the Foul but since he was dead, it was rightfully hers. She had found out pretty quickly that she could never run out of pages as more appeared everytime she used one up.

"I don't understand why you insist on using that nickname," said Severus with a scowl.

"Reggie? It sounds friendlier than Regulus," she said with a shrug, "did you want one? How about Sevvie?"

"Salazar Slytherin, if you call me that," growled Severus, "I will poison you."

"I was joking," laughed Lilac, "we both know that I call you either by your full name or Sev."

"He and Dumbledore have found the Gaunt ring," said Severus after a moment of silence. "Dumbledore's holding onto the ring for safekeeping."

"Which leaves the locket, the diary, and the unknown artifact."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they fell into their familiar work patterns. Lilac was in charge of collecting the ingredients and preparing them while Severus worked on putting it together. Sometimes they would switch off.

"They've started teaching me the dark arts," said Severus quietly while they waited for their potion to brew. "However I haven't used any of the unforgivables. I'm not of age and I still have the trace."

"Hopefully we can defeat the Dark Lord before you turn eighteen then," mumbled Lilac biting her lip. The prospect of Severus being forced to kill someone was terrifying. He was a spy and he had no choice but to join the Death Eaters.

"Have you done any research on the unknown artifact?"

"I've been busy in the muggle world."

"Have you now," he drawled before giving her a pointed look, "just remember, if you don't save the Wizarding World we won't have a muggle world."

"I'm working on it," she sighed as she rubbed her eyes from the stain of stress, "but I have a family and friends. I get that we're all going to have to give something up but if I don't have them, I have nothing to be fighting for."

Severus stayed quiet as he listened to her speak. He wondered if she also had trouble falling asleep and was always in fight or flight mode. During the first day of summer, his mother dropped a glass on the ground. The mere sound of glass breaking had Severus whip out his wand and anxiously prepare himself for battle. His mother was shocked by the wand being pointed at her.

"What about you?" Lilac asked, leaning her chin on the palm of her hand. "Whats keeping the Half-blood Prince from joining the Death Eaters for good?"

"Not much at all," he mumbled, remembering how his father would treat his mother at home. Lilac's eyebrows furrowed and he scowled, realizing that he had shared too much about himself. Now she'd pry into his life.

"And here I thought Reggie was why you haven't left," she mused jokingly, "I guess he isn't as good of an influence as I thought he was."

"Do you ever stop joking around?" Severus asked coldly. Lilac's amused expression didn't even waver as she checked on their potion. Her red hair fell like a curtain in front of his face and he scowled.

Severus absolutely could not let himself grow fond of the girl. After all, he was a Death Eater. Death Eaters served You-Know-Who and killed people who weren't pure of blood. Lilac was a muggleborn. The only thing that would result from their friendship was the death of one of them. It terrified him to acknowledge the fact that he'd make sure the person who'd end up dying would never be her.

Regulus had warned him not to get attached but Severus could tell the younger boy already looked up to the girl. Lilac had this charisma that pulled people in and locked them into place. She could see right through him even when he yelled at her and shout awful slurs. Unlike her twin sister, the slurs didn't have any affect on her. She even embraced them warmly and flaunted it proudly.

"Sorry, but I'm not Sirius," she said with a grin. Her puns made him want to drink a draught of living death. The fact that he found the pun a bit amusing made him want to crucio himself back to sanity.

"If you were Black I wouldn't be here," grit out Severus, "I'd rather gouge my eyes out with my knife than sit next to that dog."

Lilac blinked and stared at him. He wondered if he had said something wrong. When a flash of panic surged through himself, Severus mentally hit himself. He shouldn't care what her opinion about him was. Even as he told himself that he didn't care, he couldn't stop the relief he felt when she started laughing uncontrollably. That only made Severus even more confused however, what the hell was she laughing about?

"You're hilarious sometimes," she said as her laughter simmered down, "but Severus, even if you don't have anything to fight for, just know we'll be fighting for you."

* * *

 _AN: Hello! Thank you for the review that were left for the last chapter, that one was my personal favorite too. I'm glad people like reading about Lily since she's going to start becoming a big part of the story. I've gotten started on working through my writer's block and it's going very well. I've written so much that Google docs is starting to lag! At the moment I've written 138 pages of Plus One and each chapter is roughly 8-11 pages long. I'm really proud that I've been able to write and get feedback but I also appreciate criticism, thank you for reading my story and I hope you stick around to read the end._


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

Soft paws padded through the school as a black dog and a red fox dashed towards the Headmaster's office. They were surprised to receive a patronus from the man telling them to get to his office as fast as possible. Severus and Regulus were already there, looking bewildered and panicked. Sirius and Lilac turned back into their normal forms and made their presence known.

"Ah, Mr. Black, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore with a weak smile. Lilac's eyes widened when her eyes spotted the ring on a black dead-looking hand.

"Professor! Why did you put the ring on? It's obvious there would be a curse on it!" Lilac exclaimed rushing over. Dumbledore nodded gravely and pulled the ring off.

"I was a fool, Miss Evans," he said as he placed the ring down on the table. "I had wanted to bring my family back from the dead and see them one last time. All other thoughts blew right over my head."

"The dead are better off dead, Professor," said Sirius frowning, "no matter how much you wish to see them again, there's a reason why the dead and living aren't the same."

"I've been able to slow the curse from spreading but I'm clueless as to how to completely stop it," said Dumbledore with a grimace. Lilac immediately pulled out her book which was tucked in her sweatshirt pocket. The moving words made everyone feel dizzy yet the girl wasn't affected in the slightest.

"Sev, get a cauldron. Reggie, go get these things from Slughorn's storage. Sirius, go with him," instructed Lilac as she placed a hand down on the page. The words stopped moving and they all scanned the page before leaving the office.

"If you hadn't pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat I would've thought the sorting hat had made a mistake," said Dumbledore with a smile, "you would've made an outstanding Ravenclaw."

"Thanks, professor. There's a way I can reverse the spell but it's extremely dangerous and I haven't been able to test the spell out," informed Lilac flipping through the book, "it might be the only way to get rid of the poison however."

"I trust your judgement," said Dumbledore. He seemed extremely alright with the fact that there was a rapidly increasing chance of him dying. Lilac pointed her wand at his hand and started muttering incantations under her breath while flipping through the book quickly. "As for the horcruxes, well there is someone who may have some more knowledge."

"Who?"

"Horace Slughorn. I assume you've been picked for the Slugclub?"

"I haven't had the time to join," admitted Lilac as she stopped reading.

"I recommend that you do. We need to know what he does he himself taught Tom Riddle."

Sirius and Regulus didn't speak much as they ran towards the dungeons. The elder Black sibling grabbed the younger's shirt and forced him to come to a stop when he heard footsteps.

"Shit," he cursed as he fumbled through his pockets. When he touched a smooth fabric, he pulled it out and covered the both of them in a swift movement. Filch slowly walked past them, looking around suspiciously.

"This is an invisibility cloak?" Regulus asked with wide eyes when Filch passed. Sirius nodded and started guiding them towards the potions classroom.

"Don't you dare tell anyone," warned Sirius lowly. Once inside the storage room, they gathered all the ingredients needed and dashed back to the office. Severus arrived just as they did and they dropped everything on the table.

"What do we do?" Sirius asked as Lilac put her wand down and pulled her hair back into a messy bun.

"Severus, help me with this," said Lilac ignoring her boyfriend and pushing the beans at him. The two work quickly and efficiently, occasionally asking the other a question about the brewing. The Black siblings watched anxiously as they weren't as skilled in potions as the other two.

"It's done," said Severus ladling out some of the golden liquid. Dumbledore quickly drank it and they observed the black patched on his right hand. It didn't look as if was spreading anymore, which was good.

"I'll have to work on the reversal spell before I can try to reverse the cure. The spells and potions should keep the curse from spreading for around a year or so," informed Lilac as she inspected the Headmaster's hand.

"Well done, Miss Evans," praised Dumbledore, "you've proved yourselves quite capable wizards. Ten points to the each of you. Now, the four of you should really go back to the common rooms for a good night's rest."

Once outside the Headmaster's office, it was as if all the adrenaline had left Lilac's system and she slumped against Sirius. The Gryffindor immediately placed his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"You'd make a good healer, Vix," said Sirius with a small smile.

"I'm tired," she sighed, "let's just get back to the common room. I'm up for sleeping on the couch tonight."

"I'll carry you up," offered Sirius teasingly as he picked her up. The Slytherins quickly left so they wouldn't have to witness the two act like a couple.

* * *

After the attack on Hogsmeade not many parents allowed their kids into the village. Many students were too scared to visit anyways. Only a few dared to venture outside of the castle grounds.

"Lilac! It's been so long since I've seen you!" Caplum exclaimed when she walked through the doors. "Your hair's changed too!"

"I was hoping to get it dyed again," she said smiling brightly. "I did tell you that I wanted to dye my hair lilac last year, didn't I?"

Caplum gasped and squealed before having her sit down in a chair. She had gone to Hogsmeade with Sirius but had told him to meet her in the Three Broomsticks in an hour or so. She wanted to surprise him with a head full of purple.

"I'm surprised you came back after what happened last year," admitted Caplum as he worked on her hair.

"Of course I came back," said Lilac with a scoff, "a couple Death Eaters aren't going to scare me off."

"That's good to know," he said with a hum. They talked a bit more about random things such as family and school work. By the time her hair was a vibrant shade of lilac, she was starving. "I'd love to see Black's reaction to this."

"Me too, he doesn't even know I'm here," giggled Lilac as he fixed her curls. Once he was finished, she spun around a bit and Caplum clapped for her.

"You're definitely my new model," he said taking out a camera. Lilac gladly posed for him and she even got to keep a couple pictures. Once the pictures were also done she made her way over to the Three Broomsticks.

"Hey handsome," she said in a sultry voice as she dragged her hand across his broad shoulders. Sirius wasn't facing her and could only see the lilac-colored curls falling in front of his face. He flinched away and gave her a confused look.

"Hey lady, I have a girl— Lilac?!"

"Sirius," she mocked. His mouth dropped and then he closed it but opened it again. Lilac laughed and slid into the chair on the other side of the table. Sirius's adam's apple bobbed as he took in the sight of her new appearance. Gideon was right when he said lilac would be a good color on her. She looked absolutely _heavenly_.

"Holy fucking hell," he blurted as he reached out and examined a lock of her hair, "this is real. This is fucking real. Merlin's beard, Vix, you're the— the personification of Heaven!"

"So you're using big words now huh?" Lilac teased with a blush.

"I have bigger words," he said with a smirk, "pulchritudinous, resplendent, tantalizing, need I go on, Lilac?"

"I have one for you too," she said matching his smirk with her own, "debaucher."

Sirius laughed and grabbed her hand before pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Lilac felt her heart flutter at the action. It was so formal and aristocratic yet sweet and hot at the same time. Only the infamous Sirius Black could pull that off.

"Only to you, love," he said quietly against her knuckles. The sound of James yelling made Lilac pull her hand away and cover her blushing face with her hair. She could feel Sirius's smirk burn into the side of her head.

"Padfoot! I can't find Lilac anywhere!" James cried as he walked over to their table. "Who's this you're sitting with anyways? A new bird?"

"I thought I was a fox," scoffed Lilac lifting up her head so he could see her face. James's eyes widened as he gawked at her. Remus and Peter matched James's expression from afar.

"Your hair is purple," he said dumbly.

"No shit, Prongs," said Sirius sarcastically. Lilac laughed at James's expression and patted his arm.

"Don't worry, Sirius was equally as surprised."

"No I wasn't," protested Sirius trying to protect his image.

"Yes you were."

"I believe Lilac more than I believe you, Pads," stated James as he threw an arm around Lilac's shoulders. Sirius made a face and mockingly glared at his best friend. "Any ways, I just wanted to know why Lily's acting nicer than usual to me. She hasn't called me a toerag this year yet."

"I thought you said you were getting over the lamer Evans twin?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"Sirius," warned Lilac glaring at him. Sirius shrugged and tapped his fingers on the table disinterested in the conversation.

"I am. It's just weird since I was expecting yelling," said James shrugging. Lily's new attitude towards him made him happy and a bit excited. He had told himself that he was getting over her however, which meant he shouldn't even care about what Lily was doing.

"She's willing to get to know us this year," explained Lilac with a smile.

"Lily Evans wants to listen to James Potter ask his pointless questions and Sirius Black talk about his good looks?" Remus asked raising an eyebrow. "That's almost unbelievable. It would be if she hadn't kept herself from yelling at the two all this year."

"People grow up and they realize that it's pointless to hold a grudge forever," said Lilac as she took a sip out of Sirius's butterbeer. James and Peter pushed a table over and Remus dragged over a couple chairs so they could all sit together.

"We need to pull off the best pranks we can think of. It's our last year here," said Sirius leaning in so he could speak in a quieter voice. There were no students from Hogwarts in the pub but none of them wanted to risk getting their plans exposed.

"Best pranks?" Peter asked warily. "All of the pranks we've done the last six years were pretty good. How do we top that?"

"By doing the absolutely ridiculous ones. The ones that will be the most difficult to pull of because of the sheer amount of charm work it'll take," said Lilac pulling out the Marauder's Map. They had added a special feature that only they would ever know. "I solemnly swear that my plans cause no good."

Instead of a map of Hogwarts appearing, a large list of pranks appeared. Many of them were crossed out as they had done them, and some were written in dark ink to show their level of difficulty. James pointed at one.

"Let's flood the school."

* * *

It was hard not to pity the redhead who was sulking in her room as the boy she fancied snogged random girls. Lilac and Marlene tried everything they could to try and cheer Lily up but it made things even worse.

"This is pathetic, I didn't even like him before!" Lily exclaimed rolling on her bed onto her stomach.

"Yes you did," corrected Lilac smirking, "and he definitely likes you back. You need to make your move as fast as possible though."

"He's currently kissing a sixth year in the common room," huffed Lily clenching the blankets in her fists.

"If James was able to look at only you for six years I'm sure he still sees you," said Lilac rolling her eyes, "plus, he's not kissing. He's snogging. There's romantic difference. James doesn't like anyone except you, Lily."

"How are you sure?"

"I lived with James for six years of my life. We read each other easier than a picture book," she answered looking through her trunk. "He still loves you and worships the ground you walk on."

Lily pursed her lips as she watched her younger sister get dressed. Her unnatural hair color shouldn't have been allowed at school but for some reason, McGonagall favored her and the four Gryffindor boys. They had been able to get away with many different things which confused her. The purple locks were pulled back in a ponytail and tied in place with a white ribbon. Her skirt ended mid thigh which was much higher than Lily would ever dare to wear it. Lilac's shirt was tucked in neatly and her tie was turned into a headband instead. The black flats on her feet rounded out her appearance and made her look more feminine.

If someone told Lilac that she looked beautiful, she'd smirk and say something flirty and sarcastic back them. It was clear that she knew she was pretty and Lily envied that confidence. Lily liked her own appearance but she wished that she knew how to use it to her advantage just like Lilac would.

"Why do you wear your skirt up so high?" Lily blurted as she sat up. Lilac looked over at her surprised.

"It's unflattering when it's so low on me. I have a certain body shape and I'm not as tall as you are so shorter skirts make me look taller," explained Lilac as she looked for her grey jumper.

"Have you ever thought about running a fashion line?" Marlene asked listening in.

"It's not something I would ever see myself doing," admitted Lilac with a shrug, "I'd rather be helping out in the war."

Lily got out of bed and sat down at the vanity. Her younger sister had everything and could be everything she wanted yet she'd throw it all away to fight in a war that everyone else was too scared to even talk about. It was Gryffindor bravery through and through. On her bed were countless spell books and DADA worksheets, all with the goal of being able to help make the world a safer place.

Meanwhile, the older Evans twin was striving to be a nurse at St. Mungo's. Lily didn't think she'd be able to hurt someone if she wanted to. She grew up sensitive to people and under blood prejudice. Lily could stand her own ground and defend herself, but the idea of storming into battle didn't appeal to her.

The word 'mudblood' affected the two twins differently. Lily would shut it down immediately but feel hurt inside. Lilac would smirk and brag about being one in a sarcastic mocking manner. It seemed that the influence of the four Gryffindor boys had changed the two in very different ways.

"That's pretty," compliment Lilac as she pointed at Lily's make up palette. Lily had gotten it from Marlene on her birthday in their sixth year.

"I got it for her," said Marlene walking over to the vanity to join the three. Mary McDonald was also living in the same dorm but she chose to spend her time with the hufflepuffs. She rarely appeared in the Gryffindor tower.

"You have good taste," complimented Lilac as she put on a bit of makeup. She left the room immediately after, grabbing her bag along the way.

"Your twin is strange," commented Marlene once the girl was gone, "how do you think she's getting away with that color hair? You'd think McGonagall would demand that she change her hair back."

"McGonagall loves her and Potter. They could get away with anything," mumbled Lily as she looked into the mirror. Nothing in her reflection resembled her younger sister. Her dark red hair didn't stand out like Lilac's original firetruck red hair and her eyes were darker than Lilac's.

"You're pretty too," said Marlene playing with Lily's hair, "that's why Potter likes you. You're also smart, and you're one of the nicest people I've ever met."

"I'm not jealous of Lilac, Marls. I just… I wish I knew why she hated me for so long," sighed Lily putting down her makeup brush. "Both Lilac and Petunia. I don't know what I did to make them hate me."

"You could always ask her."

"We've just started becoming somewhat of a family, I don't want to ruin it," said Lily looking down at her hands. "They're so nice, Marlene. I had dinner with the five of them and they were so close to each other. They're like their own little family."

"I don't think I'll ever stop hating Black but they aren't awful," said Marlene getting her books together, "you were just angry at them for bullying Snape. Even the best people have their faults."

When the two walked down for breakfast, they sat down near the Marauders. James was sitting in the middle of the table for some reason and they seemed to be scheming something. It was obvious as they all went quiet when Lily and Marlene sat down.

"Did we interrupt something?" Lily asked frowning.

"Well we can't tell the Head Girl our amazing plans," drawled Sirius giving her a smirk, "then we wouldn't be able to carry them out."

"You just told the Head Boy," she pointed out.

"Yeah but Prongs is more lenient," said Lilac patting him on the knee. James grinned and winked at the purple-haired girl. "The Marauders can pull off at least four major pranks before we get into trouble."

"It should be five. Since there's five of us," said Peter from the other side of Remus. Remus shook his head.

"If anyone asks I'm not involved," said the werewolf picking up his book off the table.

"As if, you've been helping us with the technical difficulties," scoffed James pulling the book out of his hands. Lily laughed at the glare Remus sent James as he took the book back and placed it in his bag.

"You're going to pay for that you know," said Sirius grinning, "just wait until Remus runs into another one of his furry problems."

"He's right," sang Lilac with a nod, "he's a really petty puppy."

"I thought I was the puppy?" Sirius asked with a mock pout.

"You're an oversized mutt."

The five laughed and Lily shared a look with Marlene. The Marauders had so many inside jokes that it was impossible for anyone to not think they were insane. Everything they said was a joke of some type and no one knew when they were being serious.

"Was that… supposed to be funny?" Marlene asked confused.

"Very," said Peter nodding, "it was hilarious. Sirius's ego was chopped in half."

"That hurt, Vix," said Sirius dramatically as he placed a hand over his heart and threw himself on the ground. At that moment McGonagall walked over which meant Sirius landed on the ground by the professor's feet. "Oh, hi Minnie."

"Mr. Black, get up off the floor," scolded McGonagall, "Mr. Potter, get off the table. Miss Evans, wear your tie normally, and Mr. Pettigrew, please refrain from spilling pumpkin juice onto the floor. Mr. Lupin, if you could, watch your friends."

"I'll try, professor," said Remus nodding, "but they aren't the best listeners."

McGonagall smiled and walked off. If it had been anyone else, she might've docked points or given a more serious scolding. This was James Potter, Sirius Black, Lilac Evans, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin however. All five were the top of Transfiguration, surprisingly. It was the same James Potter who was the Quidditch captain and the best seeker ever seen. The same Sirius Black who _openly_ _flirted_ with McGonagall. The same Lilac Evans who was the smartest Gryffindor and perhaps in the entire school. The same Peter Pettigrew who would stay after class to help clean up, and the same Remus Lupin, who was the perfect prefect.

Even with all their faults the five were hard to dislike and even though no one would admit it, Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without them. They might have entered the school as innocent little kids, but they were leaving the school as the five kids who turned the school upside down.

"I'm going to the Slug Club dinner tonight," announced Lilac making Sirius choke on his pumpkin juice.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Great!" Lily exclaimed excited to have her twin with her.

"You're kidding me!" James exclaimed incredulously.

"I decided to see what the fuss was all about," she said with a careless shrug.

"The fuss is about you leaving us!" Sirius wailed.

"I'm only leaving you all for two hours," sighed Lilac rolling her eyes. The boys kept complaining all throughout breakfast. Remus was a part of the Slug Club too however, so he was happy to have one of his friends with him.

* * *

Lily and Lilac were literal opposites as they got dressed for the Slug Club dinner party. Lily wore a long black dress and had her auburn hair pinned up in a bun. Lilac wore a short white chiffon dress with lace sleeves. Her lilac hair was left down in long loose curls.

"I feel so left out," sighed Marlene as she watched from her bed, "the two of you are the hottest girls at school and I'm just here."

"Oh please. Sirius Black only dates good-looking people," said Lilac rolling her eyes. Marlene's long silky black hair and tall hourglass figure was to die for. The entire school envied her defined features.

"Well he's currently not dating _me_."

Lilac's eyes flew over to Marlene who just gave her a challenging look. She sighed and put on white heels before hurrying out. What was the chance that Marlene knew that she was dating Sirius? Marlene would surely hate her for it.

"Goddamn," whistled a familiar voice, "an angel is here to bless me."

"Shut up, Sirius," sighed Lilac. Ever since she dyed her hair lilac he'd make comments about how pretty she looked. She knew that he loved her red hair too but the fact that he liked her however she looked was heartwarming.

"Aw love," he said pulling her behind the tapestry and kissing her, "why don't we go up to the dorm instead of dinner?"

"Absolutely not. Get your hand off my thigh," she said pushing him away. Sirius chuckled and pecked her on the lips before linking her arm with his and parading her out of the common room. "What are you doing?"

"I'm walking you to the dinner party. You can't expect me to let you walk out dressed so nicely by yourself, did you?" Sirius asked cocking an eyebrow at her. "No one's allowed to look at you the way I do."

"And how do you look at me?" Lilac asked with a sly smile. Sirius's loud bark-like laughter boomed throughout the castle halls. They both knew the answer to that question so neither answered it. When they got to the dungeons, he finally let her on her own.

"Smuggle back some food!" Sirius called over his shoulder as he walked off. Lilac shook her head in amusement and walked in. Lily and Remus were already sitting at the table and conversing quietly.

"Ah, why if it isn't the other half of the Evans twins!" Slughorn exclaimed happily. "Please, take a seat."

"Thank you for inviting me, Professor," said Lilac curtly as she sat next to Remus. It might have been better to sit next to Lily seeing as they were twins, but she felt much more comfortable with Remus. Whenever she felt out of her comfort zone, she'd immediately seek out of the the Marauders for help.

"Don't eat the spinach. It's never good," murmured Remus leaning towards her slightly. Lilac nodded and placed the serviette on her lap. When Slughorn started eating, everyone took it as their cue to do so too.

"We have three new members of the Slug Club this year. Kayla Anderson, Harold Finagin, and Lilac Evans," announced Slughorn gesturing towards each of the three. Lilac put on her sweetest smile when her name was said and everyone looked towards her. "As a way to introduce yourself, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Mr. Finagin?"

"I'm going to become Minister," said Harold proudly. Lilac subtly shot him an unimpressed look and gave Remus a bored one. Almost everyone wanted to be a Minister or part of the Ministry.

"And you, Miss Anderson?"

They all looked at the blonde haired Ravenclaw. She was in her seventh year and sat across from Lilac. The glares and dirty looks she shot the younger Evans twin took her aback but Lilac didn't say anything. The three seventh year Gryffindors recognized her as one of Sirius's fangirls.

"I'm going to become the Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes like my father. I wouldn't be surprised if Professor Flitwick made me his successor however," bragged Kayla, "I am the best at charms in our year."

Lilac bit her lip at Anderson's lie.

"Are you? Well, that certainly means the sorting hat placed you in the right spot," said Slughorn with a smile, "and you, Miss Evans? You are the best at potions."

"Severus and I are," corrected Lilac politely as she glanced at the Slytherins sitting a couple chairs away. His jaw was clenched and he seemed angry for some unknown reason. Had she done something wrong?

"I thought that Lilac Evans was the best at charms, she's the brightest witch of our generation," said Severus annoyed and seemingly irked. Lilac's eyebrows raised and she gave him a questioning look.

"Of course not. If she was, she'd be in Ravenclaw," huffed Kayla looking like a deer caught in headlights, "she's nowhere near my intelligence. Just because she can get any boy to fall onto their knees in front of her doesn't make her smart. It makes her a—"

Remus coughed loudly and it seemed to make Kayla realize she was at dinner with many other students and a professor. Lilac's cheeks were flushed as she knew exactly what Kayla Anderson was going to call her.

"I recall Lilac being the best in Charms since our first year," said Remus softly. No one dared to say anything against him. After all, Remus Lupin had made a name for himself being the smartest boy in Hogwarts.

"Since the topic is Lilac Evans, what are you going to become after graduation?" Slughorn asked attempting to get rid of the awkward and tense air. Lily looked at her twin sympathetically. Being pretty and smart had it's ups and downs. Since Lilac was so close to the school heartthrobs, she had many haters who made their dislike for her publicly known. Lily wondered if anyone talked about her behind her back. Lily hoped it wasn't as bad as the comments made about her sister.

"I've been offered an apprenticeship with Ophelia Kerrigan," said Lilac quietly. Her mood was dampened by Kayla's remarks.

"Ophelia Kerrigan? She was a part of the Slug Club many years ago! She's very famous now too," said Slughorn excitedly. "Perhaps I should invite her to the Christmas Party I'll be holding in two months."

Lilac listened half-heartedly to Slughorn drone on about his past students. Kayla Anderson's glare remained on her the entire time and she grabbed Remus's hand. He rubbed her hand comfortingly and gave her a small nod. At the end of the party she decided not to talk to Slughorn. She needed to be subtle in her attempts to get answers.

"Never let someone claim to be better than you," said Severus harshly before leaving. Lilac blinked as she watched the Slytherin leave. He had a strange way of showing he cared and it confused her.

"I should've known you'd have a boy defend you," spat Kayla brushing past her, "you're a slut. That's all you'll ever become and that's all you are now. You aren't the brightest witch in our generation, you're just a desperate piece of trash throwing herself at anyone who'll look at her. Just go get yourself killed, mudblood."

Lilac gasped as the words cut into her. Words didn't normally hurt her and the blood purity slur definitely didn't. Being called desperate and a slut however, made her crack and she felt tears pooling. Remus and Lily, who had overheard, tried to reach her but she quickly ran off.

"I'm going to murder that stupid Ravenclaw," threatened Lily angrily, "20 points from Ravenclaw due to threats and verbal assault."

"We need to find her," said Remus worriedly, "perhaps the map? Sirius would have it."

The two rushed to the Gryffindor common room and found Sirius talking to James. Marlene was talking to a sixth year.

"Where's Lilac?" Sirius asked frowning.

"She ran off," said Remus making both pureblood boys sit up. Sirius pulling out the map and got her location before running off with it. James tried to go after him but Remus pulled him back.

"Let me go, Moony," growled James angrily.

"No. Go calm down Lily. She's worried," said Remus looking over at the older twin. She was blabbering to Marlene angrily. Marlene seemed confused and James quickly walked over to her. Lily took one look at James and burst into tears.

"I'm a horrible sister! Anderson said such… such horrid things and I didn't do anything!" Lily wailed. James blanched and glanced over his shoulder at Remus. The werewolf shook his head and sat down.

"What did Anderson say?" James asked tentatively. He didn't and did want to know.

"She called Lilac a slut, and a mudblood, and told her to die," listed Lily through hiccups. James's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles going white. Peter, who was listening, looked at Remus in shock, looking for confirmation. Remus nodded and Peter's eyes went wide.

"Where the fuck is she?" James asked quietly. "Anderson. Where the hell is she?"

"James," said Remus glancing at the redhead who had buried her face in a couch throw pillow. The Head Boy pursed his lips and sat down next to her, slowly and carefully putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Lilac's alright. Words don't hurt her easily. She doesn't care if she's called a blood slur," said James reassuringly. "Sirius went to look for her. He's her best friend and we all know he fancies her. She's fine."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Small sniffles was all that could be heard outside of the Gryffindor Quidditch team storage cupboard. Sirius sighed as he leaned against the cupboard door, feeling his heart sink knowing that she was probably feeling self-conscious about herself.

"Love?" Sirius asked, hearing the sniffles stop immediately. The cupboard door opened and two arms were thrown around his neck. "What happened? Who did this?"

"Is my skirt too short? I'm not… I'm not a slut," said Lilac burying her face in his shoulder. Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist.

"No, you're not. You're anything but that. The way you dress is perfect, Vix," he said stroking her head gently. Inside, he wanted to tear through the school until he found whoever called her such ugly things.

"She told me to die," said Lilac growing quieter, "she's the first who's ever said it to my face and wasn't a Slytherin."

"She's jealous. Who is she, anyways?" Sirius asked frowning.

"Kayla Anderson," spat Lilac wiping her eyes. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to remember why the name sounded familiar. "She follows you around everywhere. She's part of the fanclub."

"Oh," said Sirius remembering a blonde haired Ravenclaw, "maybe the Ravenclaws are getting a bit too ahead of themselves. Prongs and I will think of something. Moony and Wormtail will definitely want to help."

"Sirius, I don't want to hide behind you," sighed Lilac surprising him, "if I'm going to prove her wrong I just need to ignore her. I just wished words didn't hurt so much."

"Fine. Let's go back to the common room," said Sirius intertwining his hand with hers. Coincidentally, they ran into Professor Slughorn as they walked back. He was trying to sneak some Venomous Tentacula seeds out of the greenhouse.

"Hello professor," said Lilac watching the professor try to reach in through the window, "why don't you just go through the front entrance?"

"Huh? Oh! For a moment I thought you were Professor Sprout. I'm just trying to refill my inventory. Professor Sprout wouldn't be too pleased if I took some so I'm trying to be… undercover about it," explained Slughorn nervously.

"Would you like our help with that?" Sirius asked amused. "We are Marauders, after all."

"I only need a few handfuls," said Slughorn stepping to the side so Sirius could try. Sirius felt around the window panel and easily unscrewed it and placed the panel on the ground. It made reaching into the greenhouse much easier and he grabbed a couple handfuls of the Tentacula seeds.

"This enough?" Sirius questioned as he stood back up.

"Perfect," said Slughorn pocketing the seeds, "and the window?"

Lilac pointed her wand at the window and it levitated up and screwed itself back into place.

"You truly are the brightest witch, aren't you?" Slughorn mused with a wide smile. "I look forwards to seeing you rise to greatness."

"I suppose many of your students have risen to greatness haven't they?" Lilac asked shooting Sirius a glance to stay quiet. "Have you had any students that haven't?"

Slughorn's face dropped and there was a bit of gloom around him.

"I have," said Slughorn nodding, "however I've learned from my mistakes and will not make them again."

"I'm sure you won't professor," said Lilac nodding, "what were they, however?"

"I revealed information about something that should never have even existed," said Slughorn looking uncomfortable, "it's getting very late you two. Head back to your common rooms."

"Alright, professor," responded Lilac linking her fingers with Sirius's and turning back around. The couple walked until they were successfully back inside the castle and out of Slughorn's hearing range.

"What are you trying to do?" Sirius murmured as he lightly swung their interlocked hands. "You want something from Slughorn, don't you? Does this have to do with the you-know-whats?"

"He knows something," she sighed, "he taught Tom Riddle himself. Dumbledore asked me to try and figure it out. Honestly, it could be something insignificant and he might not know anything. Judging by how he acted though…"

"He definitely does," finished Sirius bringing up their hands to pressed a kiss to each of her fingers, "ever since you fought that basilisk, it feels like I'm going to lose you. Not slowly, but in a sudden way where one moment you were here and in another you were gone."

"That's why you're wearing the ring, isn't it? You still haven't explained how the ring works."

"Are you sure you want to know?" Sirius asked giving her a guilty look. "If you know I feel like you'd take it the wrong way and take the ring off. If you take the ring off… I think I'd glue myself to you since it'd be the only way I could make sure you were safe."

"Sirius, tell me how the ring words," demanded Lilac realizing there was more to the little band of silver than she had thought.

"Every pureblood family has it's heirlooms. The Black family has a set of jewelry made from Goblin-wrought silver. It keeps expanding the more the Black family line grows. At the moment, there are two rings and a bracelet. There used to be three rings but my father passed away a few years ago, horrible man he was," he said as they sat down on a bench, "but now it's just my brother and the horrible hag we call a mother.

You're wearing my brother's ring, which means my brother has to be wearing my mother's bracelet. These pieces of jewelry were specifically designed to make sure that the entire family could have each other's backs. Whenever you get injured, the injury is split between the pieces so each of the people wearing the jewelry would receive a fraction of the pain."

"What?" Lilac gasped horrified. "You mean… every time I get hurt, you and Reggie do too? Sirius! I can't do that to you two! What if I died?"

"The point is you can't," said Sirius grabbing both her hands to calm her down, "unless you were hit with an Avada, which would sever the charm, you can't die. We'll know you're injured and we'll come to your aid in one way or another. By splitting up the pain, we can keep you from getting to the point where you're about to die."

"I still don't like how you get hurt because of me," she said worriedly, "I'm so sorry for any pain that happened because of it."

"Love," he said with a wry smile, "if I couldn't take a couple hits for you then I don't deserve you. Anyways, if Reggie or I get injured you'd feel it too. To wear these takes trust and love and the want to keep the other safe."

"I'd get hurt for both you and Reggie," said Lilac seriously. Sirius pressed his lips together in a tight line but then gave her a weak smile.

"Hopefully that won't happen."

* * *

"Tuney's getting married," announced Lilac on Thursday morning a few weeks after the Slughorn party. November was slowly creeping to an end and soon they'd start having to really think about their future after Hogwarts.

"Really? That's great!" Lily exclaimed, surprised. She wondered how she didn't know about it.

"The wedding is going to be during Christmas Break," she informed, sitting down next to Sirius, "we should be getting our invitations some time soon. Vernon knows about the Wizarding World now."

"The boring muggle knows?" Sirius asked surprised.

"Vernon's not that boring," chastised Lilac frowning, "and yes, he does. Petunia sounded so ecstatic when she realized Vernon wasn't going to leave her because Lily and I were witches."

"Stupid muggles, thinking they're so much better than wizards," scoffed James annoyed.

"Don't go talking like a pureblood supremacist now," warned Lily with a glare. Owls fluttered into the Great Hall and Hazel dropped three letters, one for Lilac, one for Lily, and another for Sirius.

"I got invited to the wedding?" Sirius asked incredulously. They all looked at the card in his hands in surprise.

"How did you get invited?" James asked with wide eyes. "How come I wasn't invited?"

"Do you think it's because Vernon thinks we're—"

"Sirius, shut up," said Lilac interrupting his sentence before he could finish it. Sirius smirked and their friends gave her confused and curious looks. Lilac didn't want to deal with James's teasing and Lily's scolding.

"What does Vernon think?" Lily asked.

"That's not important. Anyways, now you need dress robes," said Lilac giving Sirius a pointed look, "you can't show up all rugged and messy. It's a wedding, for Godric's sake."

"Alright, Vix. I'll go dress robe shopping," said Sirius rolling his eyes.

"I'll go with you. Knowing you, you'd probably find something absolutely hideous and wear it just for kicks."

"It's a date then!"

"It is _not_ a date!"

"And why not? It'll be you and me alone in a robes shop."

"It's not like we haven't gone shopping together."

"So we've been on multiple dates?"

"No!"

Lily, James, Remus, and Peter watched the banter with raised eyebrows. The two always bickered but they had never seen Sirius openly flirt with Lilac as if he actually liked her and they had never seen her this _flustered_.

"It's not a date because Lily's going with us!"

"I am?" Lily asked surprised.

"No, it's supposed to be a date," whined Sirius putting his arm around Lilac.

"She needs to get a dress," said Lilac pushing him away.

"Then she can bring along Prongs and make it a double date."

"What?" James asked with wide eyes. His eyes darted from Lily to Sirius and then back to Lily. "But I'm not invited to the wedding. I don't want to go to the wedding either, since it sounds like Vernon's anti-wizards."

"You can be Evan's plus one," pointed out Sirius, "and I've got to have my best mate there with me. I don't want to be the only wizard there."

"The wedding is a month away. There's still a lot of time to figure plans out," said Lilac shrugging, "in the meantime, we need to start getting ready to take our N.E.W.T.S. It won't be as easy as our O.W.L.S."

"All work and no play," groaned Sirius resting his head on the table, "plus I never see you anymore. You're always at those Slug Club dinner parties and being a goody-two-shoes to the professors. I thought you had taken after Prongs and I!"

"Stop your complaining," scoffed Lilac rolling her eyes, "I already agreed to help you with your pranks."

"There's a lot more you can help me with," he said with a wink. Sirius winced when she hit him over the head with her book and got up. "Hey wait, where are you going?"

"Away from you."

* * *

Pulling her purple hair out of her face and into a ponytail, she started running around the Quidditch Pitch. It became somewhat of a habit ever since Gideon had forced her to run every morning the year before. It had definitely helped keep her in shape and helped her in battle. A witch might have her magic but without it? She would be a normal muggle. Lilac needed to learn not to depend too much on her magic, no matter how powerful she was. If there was ever a situation where she was wandless, she'd be helpless. Staying fit was one way of preventing that.

"Do you ever get tired?" asked a voice. Lilac's head snapped up to see Peter watching from the entrance of the pitch. "I got curious because you always disappeared in the morning. Then I followed you and found that you were running every morning. Haven't you ever wanted to miss a day and sleep in though?"

"Can I tell you something?" Lilac asked. Peter nodded his head eagerly. "All I want to do is sleep. When you're sleeping you feel so safe in bed and you're away from all the chaos that's going on in the world. It's the blanket of ignorance that keeps you feeling safe."

"Then why do you get up and leave?"

"Because everyone has to eventually. But we all wake up at different times. I wake up early because I have an important role to play and I can't slack off. Sure, I can know the things I know and sleep in, but that would be selfish and I'd feel guilty."

"Don't feel guilty about wanting to feel comfortable and safe," said Peter softly, "you're one of the nicest people I know. You work hard and try to help everyone. You deserve a lot more than the world has to offer."

"You're a good friend, Pete," said Lilac with a smile, "let's go back to the common room."

As they walked, they talked about what they aspired to be when they graduated. Sirius, James, and Remus were more popular than Peter and people admired them more. Because of that, it was harder for Peter to make other friends and not many people knew much about him. Peter wanted to work in the ministry in the Sports and Games department. After all, he was a part of the Hogwarts gobstone club.

"I don't think you should become a potioneer," said Peter after they finished talking about his future. Lilac looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Not because you're not good, you're brilliant! But because you don't seem like that's what you want to do."

"I don't really want to be a potioneer," agreed Lilac, "it doesn't seem like something I'd have fun doing."

"Do you still want to be an auror?"

"No," said Lilac biting her lip, "I want to fight but I heard that the Ministry was overrun by Death Eaters. Peter, when you join the Ministry, promise me that you won't get influenced by them and become one."

"I promise."

"Pinky promise, if you break it you have to cut off your pinky," she said childishly as they stood in the common room. She held out her pink and he hooked her with his before they stamped their thumbs and then cross their arms with another pinky swear.

"I solemnly swear that I'll keep our promise," he said sincerely. Lilac grinned and was about to hug him but then paused.

"Maybe I'll hug you after I shower," she said making her way up the stairs to the bathroom. Peter laughed and went his separate way to the boy's dormitory. There, the other boys were all still asleep. After Lilac was done showering she found Peter reading on his bed. She leaned over Sirius's sleeping figure and poked his cheek.

"Go away," grumbled Sirius turning over.

"Wake up, Snuffles," she teased. Going over to James, she pulled on his covers and then threw them on top of Remus. Remus slowly woke after getting hit by the heavy blankets and James curled up into a ball from the cold.

"Do you want to go down for breakfast?" Peter asked putting his book on the nightstand. Sirius immediately sat up and ran a hand through his hand.

"I'm up, I'm up, don't go to breakfast without me," he grumbled as he rummaged through his trunk for a shirt and pants. Lilac laughed and started making Sirius's bed as he got dressed. The boys were always so messy.

"Let's go, Prongs," said Remus shaking the messy haired boy. James groaned and put on his glasses before getting dressed. Soon they made their way down to the Great Hall where Gideon was waiting.

"Gideon?" Lilac asked surprised. He gave her a sombre smile and hugged her.

"Hey Lilac. I need to talk to you," he said giving Sirius a nod. Lilac's eyebrows furrowed and she followed him out of the Great Hall and into the Headmaster's Office. There, Dumbledore and another man was waiting.

"Ah, Miss Evans. This is Alastor Moody, an auror who is also part of the Order of the Phoenix," said Dumbledore with a smile. She glanced at Gideon in realization.

"The Order of the Phoenix? That's what the Order is?" Lilac asked, seeing Gideon nod.

"You want to be an auror too, don't ya, laddie?" Moody asked peering down at her with his magical eye. Lilac nodded, feeling a bit intimidated by the maniacal-looking old man. There seemed to be a hint of madness in the old man.

"The Order knows about your hunt for the horcruxes and we are all willing to assist you. After all, one student cannot find them all on their own," said Dumbledore placing a hand on her shoulder, "it is much to dangerous."

"It's also too dangerous to let too many people know," argued Lilac defensively, "what if the word gets out?"

"Which is precisely why many unbreakable vows have been made," said Dumbledore with a chuckle. Lilac was immediately taken aback.

"What? But if you break an unbreakable vow—"

"You die," finished Gideon, "I know. I made one too."

"What? Gideon!" Lilac exclaimed furrowing her eyebrows.

"I made a vow that I would never tell another soul about the horcruxes and your hunt for them," he said determinedly, "it's for your own safety. Moody is here to help you though. He's one of the best fighters and duelists the Order has. He can teach you how to fight much better than I ever could."

"Instead of attending your DADA class, you will come here and train with Moody," said Dumbledore smiling, "it will surely help you prepare for the upcoming battles. Meanwhile the rest of the Order will work on locating the remaining horcruxes."

* * *

Everyone was extremely curious about her whereabouts whenever she ditched DADA and disappeared. The only people who knew where she went were Dumbledore, Gideon, Moody, Sirius, Severus, and Regulus. When she wasn't training or attending classes, she was researching anything that had to do with Ravenclaw. Lilac was absolutely convinced that the unknown horcrux had to do with Rowena Ravenclaw. She had this certain gut feeling that kept all the doubts away.

"Researching Rowena Ravenclaw, are you?" asked Binns, the History of Magic Professor.

"I was just curious because there's not a lot of known information about her," said Lilac wondering if Binns knew anything.

"Ah, well, did you know that Rowena Ravenclaw had a daughter named Helena? Helena was a beautiful young woman who was jealous of her mother's intelligence and stole her mother's diadem before running away," said Binns with a soft smile, "she ended up getting stabbed by the Bloody Baron."

"A diadem? What happened to it?" Lilac asked, her curiosity spiking.

"It's now lost. No one knows where it is," he said with a ghostly shrug, "no one except for the person who took it."

"But, Helena Ravenclaw is dead now."

"Exactly," said Binns with a nod. He walked off, leaving Lilac extremely confused. She closed her textbook and took out her journal before flipping to an empty page. She'd have to write down her new discoveries and discuss them with the others. After class, she ran to the Gryffindor tower and jumped onto Sirius's bed, surprising him. He was the only one in the dorm so it made talking easier.

"Merlin, love, if you wanted to jump me you could've given me a fair warning," he teased making her roll her eyes.

"Where's the map?" Lilac asked stuffing her hand in his robe pocket. Her fingers brushed against the familiar parchment and she quickly pulled it out and opened it. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

"Who are you looking for?" Sirius asked peering over her shoulder.

"Not who, what," she corrected, "what's the best place to hide something? You should know it best."

"Hide? Are you secretly looking for places to snog me in? If you do I recommend that cupboard over there," said Sirius smirking. She rolled her eyes and pinched his arm, making him wince in pain.

"No. One of the horcruxes has got to be the missing diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw," she explained, "it's the perfect horcrux because no one knows where it is."

"If no one knows where it is, then how does You-Know-Who know?"

"It's You-Know-Who, what doesn't he know?"

"Noses, apparently."

"Be serious!"

"I am Sirius."

Lilac took a deep breath through her nose and stood up.

"I'm going to talk to Reggie instead. He's the less-annoying Black brother, apparently," huffed Lilac. Sirius laughed and got up to follow her.

"But he's the less-lovable one."

"That can be changed!" she exclaimed. Sirius's eyebrows furrowed and he ran after her.

"It better not!"

The two bickered all the way to the classroom they always met in. It was no surprise to find Regulus and Severus already there. They always took refuge in that room to escape all the Death Eater Slytherins.

"Severus, tell me which one you prefer. Sirius or Regulus," said Lilac crossing her arms.

"That's not fair!" Sirius exclaimed frowning.

"Regulus without a doubt," stated Severus unimpressed by their bantering. "Why are the two of you here? As Reggie and I have told you, this is not a room for the two of you to snog or worse in."

"Please, she's too much of a prune to go past snogging outside our dorm," drawled Sirius rolling his eyes. Lilac blushed and hit him on the map, making him start laughing loudly. Severus sent Sirius a glare and placed more muffling charms just in case.

"If Sirius would stop being a stupid prick, I have some new information," said Lilac gritting her teeth in annoyance. Severus put his quill down and Regulus sat up, ready to hear what she had to say. "I think the last horcrux is the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Ridiculous, it was stolen during the Founder's time," said Severus scowling and going back to whatever he was doing.

"Yeah? And what happened to it?" Lilac demanded. "It's the perfect artifact to use if you were to make a horcrux!"

"How did You-Know-Who find it then? The only person who knew where it was got stabbed to death," argued Severus.

"He must've found it somehow. Anyways, we need to find the diary and the locket, still," said Lilac sitting down and taking out her book. Regulus's eyebrows knit together and he leaned back into his seat.

"The timing needs to exact," he started, making the older three look at him, "we can't risk You-Know-Who figuring out that we have his horcruxes and making more. Even if we find them all, we'll need to kill him just as we destroy them."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow. "You Slytherins aren't quite the bravest people."

"We haven't destroyed any of them, have we?" Regulus asked, ignoring his older brother. "I still have the goblet. What about the ring?"

"I have it," said Lilac, "along with the Sword of Gryffindor."

"Then we still need the locket and diary. We also need to figure out whether or not the diadem is a horcrux," listed Regulus with a frown, "I'll take care of the locket."

"I will locate the diary," said Severus with a nod.

"Then Vix and I will find the diadem," said Sirius throwing an arm around Lilac's shoulders. "It doesn't solve the issue we have with killing You-Know-Who however. Do you think a bucket of water will kill him like in that ridiculous muggle book with the bimbo Dora or some dimwitted name?"

"Dorothy, Sirius," sighed Lilac, "and he's a wizard, not a witch. Plus, You-Know-Who is most definitely not fictional. We might have to leave that up to the adults. The three of us may be of age but none of us has ever had experience in combat."

"We went up against a giant basilisk," pointed out Sirius.

"The basilisk wasn't shooting deadly unforgivables back at you, now was it?" Lilac asked with a glare. Sirius sighed in defeat and crossed his arms.

"I don't get why Dumbledore is only having Moody train you and not us too," he huffed.

"Most likely because Regulus and I are Slytherins and Death Eaters while you are the son of a famous blood supremist family," deadpanned Severus, "did you really expect Dumbledore to not be wary of us?"

"And Lilac? She's the one hanging out with us. Dumbledore could have every right to be just as suspicious of her."

"Even if the Dark Lord allowed her to join the ranks the other Death Eaters would tear her apart," stated Severus with a glare, "there's absolutely no way Lilac could join the Death Eater considering she is and always will be, a muggleborn."

"Anyways, let's focus on locating Horcruxes first," said Lilac glancing between Sirius and Severus. The two boys were glaring at each other with equal intensity and hatred. "We have to figure out where the horcruxes are all while getting ready to graduate."

"Do we really have to study?" Sirius groaned. "I'm sure defeating You-Know-Who would be an extraordinary and highly credential thing to have. The Ministry would be daft if they didn't let us become aurors."

"You need to have certain grades to be an auror," chastised Lilac frowning, "you can't expect them to accept you if you have poor grades. Plus we can't get too ahead of ourselves yet. We don't know what will the the outcome of what we're doing."

"Vix, I fully plan on defeating that asshole and living out the rest of my life with you," he promised sincerely. Lilac's lips parted in surprise and her cheeks flushed. It was obvious that Sirius was hinting towards marriage. His lips curved upwards into a smirk and she quickly gathered her things.

"You're the only asshole here."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Heavy pants escaped her as she crouched on all fours on the ground. Sweat dripped off her forehead and chin and she could barely hold onto her wand correctly. Moody did not look impressed and he pointed his wand at her.

"Stupefy."

With a tired heave, she rolled out of the way and stumbled back onto her feet. He didn't give her a chance to breathe as he shot another spell at her. Quickly, Lilac lifted up her wand to block it but was too slow.

"My back," whimpered Lilac as she laid on the ground. She was completely exhausted from the two hour long training they had just only was her brain fried from having to think of spells and protective charms, every muscle in her body had been used to dodge and avoid the incoming spells.

"Your biggest strength is your speed. You're quick, but you think too long before you act," said Moody standing above her with a permanent frown. "Not only do you hesitate for too long, but you are not good at expecting things. Constant Vigilance! That's all for today."

"I can't even move," groaned Lilac struggling to sit up.

"It will only get harder from here, Lilac. If you can't defeat me, you have no hope in defeating You-Know-Who."

"Defeat _you_?" Lilac asked incredulously. "That's possible?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, laddie. Go get out of here," he grumbled, walking over to the fireplace in Dumbledore's office and using the Floo network to leave. Lilac must've laid there for a good ten minutes as the bell chimed, signaling the start of the next class.

"Miss Evans, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked as he entered the office.

"Perfectly fine," she huffed, "sorry Professor I'll be out of here now."

Slowly, she got up and went to the door. Her entire body felt like lead and she had absolutely no energy to move at all.

"Miss Evans," said Dumbledore, "you keep exceeding my every expectation. At this rate you will be able to become an auror just like you've wanted."

"Thanks, professor," she said with a tired smile before dragging herself out. She wondered if she should go to the Hospital Wing and get something for her sore muscles but then decided against it and went to the Gryffindor tower instead. Luckily, she didn't have a class after DADA.

"Constant vigilance!" shouted a voice. Lilac jumped in surprise but then glared at the shaggy haired boy.

"I will murder you," she threatened as Sirius laughed at her reaction.

"You look completely worn out. I don't think you could hex me even if you wanted to," he said with a smirk. She shook her head and sat down on the red couches next to him, allowing her head to rest on his lap.

"Don't you have Quidditch practice tonight?" Lilac mumbled.

"I do. Right now however, you have all my attention. So what spell was it today?" Sirius asked curiously. Lilac smiled, knowing that he'd want to try and learn everything she was learning.

"Non-verbals," she stated, "such as this."

Her mouth didn't move as she flicked her wand and a vase full of wilted flowers burst into flames. Sirius's eyebrows raised, obviously impressed.

"How'd you do that?" Sirius questioned. He would pester her until he too could pull off non-verbals. It was a good thing that Lilac was known for being brilliant at spell work or else people would've grown suspicious in wondering how she was so advanced. She spent a good half an hour helping Sirius before James appeared.

"Padfoot! We have Quidditch practice! What the hell are you lounging here for?" James scolded, hitting Sirius on the back of his head. "Vix, darling, I love you but I'll have to deprive you of your puppy snuggles until _after_ Quidditch practice."

"Puppy snuggles?" Lilac asked unimpress. "Couldn't you have come up with someone better? After all, they're nothing like the snuggles you two share on stormy nights."

Remus and Peter laughed while James and Sirius didn't even look embarrassed. Some of the other Gryffindors in the common room tried to stifle their giggles and James grabbed Sirius by the scruff of his neck and dragged him out.

"Prongs's Quidditch comes before anything and anyone," commented Remus with an amused smile. Lilac nodded and stood up on the couch she was just on and then jumped onto the one the werewolf was on.

"He took my pillow," muttered Lilac as she laid her head on his lap. Remus smiled down at her before taking out a book as she fell asleep. The door opened a few minutes later with a burst of chatter as people entered. Lily noticed Lilac asleep on Remus and walked over.

"Hey Remus, should we bring her to our dorm?" Lily asked.

"It's alright, she seemed tired," he said looking up from his book, "you don't happen to know where she does during DADA, do you?"

"I was going to ask you. You're one of her best friends," said Lily surprised.

"I don't know everything," he admitted, "she may be one of my best friends but I'm not as close to her as she is to Sirius. Those two… there's something there. Not even James could get in between them."

"So do you think Black knows?" Marlene asked joining the conversation.

"Sirius knows anything and everything about her," confirmed Remus nodding, "if anyone knows its him."

* * *

Even though a popular pretty Ravenclaw girl was kissing him, James had an extremely hard time focusing. It wasn't because she wasn't a bad kisser, no, she was definitely one of the best kissers he'd ever kissed. It just didn't feel right as he didn't feel any attraction towards her. James didn't like the girl's name (as if he even remembered it), he didn't like her blonde hair, he didn't like her blue eyes, he didn't like her in general.

"Hold on," sighed James pushing her away, "I'm not feeling anything. Sorry."

"Excuse me?" the girl asked incredulously.

"Not that you're a bad kisser or anything, but I don't like you."

"W-What?" spluttered the girl climbing off him and heading towards the door. "You're a real prick, you know? Your words are a lot harsher than you think."

The door slammed closed loudly but then reopened as his friends entered the room, yawning and complaining about their day. Lilac fell on the bed right beside him and turned her head to examine his expression.

"Turned down another girl?" she guessed.

"He's still in love with the other Evans," sighed Sirius falling onto the bed beside Lilac.

"Get off my bed. I'm not still in love with Lily," huffed James turning around so he wouldn't have to look at them.

"Just ask Lily out again," said Lilac softly.

"To get rejected again?" James asked bitterly.

"Be sincere this time. Don't be an arse. If she says no, then back off and smile at her before moving on. If you ask her out one last time, this will give you some closure. After all, Lily's gotten along quite well with you this year," said Lilac giving him a smile.

"Are you sure?" James asked thoughtfully. His heart raced at the prospect of asking Lily out. He didn't show it, but it hurt everytime Lily rejected him. If he got rejected again, it might break him. With another heavy sigh, he looked over at Lilac and Sirius. The two were cuddled up together which was normal as they had cuddled like that since second year. It wasn't exactly anything he could use as proof to get them together. "Are you both sleeping in my bed?"

"We thought you could use the company," answered Sirius grinning, "my two favorite people in the same bed together."

"You make it sound wrong," said James frowning. Sirius just winked and Lilac whacked the both of them on the head.

"Do you know what we haven't done in a long time?" Lilac asked, her eyes lighting up.

"What?" Sirius asked racking his brain for any traditions they had forgotten.

"A pillow fort."

That was all the reminder they needed before the Marauders started building the fort. Lilac was able to convince Peter and Remus to help them and soon they had a very large fort with dozens of pillows and blankets. It was held up with magic, of course.

"Doesn't it feel like our first year again?" Remus asked as they all started up at Peter's red blanket which was used for the roof.

"It does. Although we're much bigger and older now," said Lilac with a nostalgic smile, "and James is even more lovestruck than before. We were all so naive and young and innocent. What I would give for that again."

"Hey, we're the Marauders," said Sirius squeezing her hand, "we'll be young forever."

There was a long silence as they all felt the sadness and fear of growing up. In the sadness and fear however, there was a flicker of comfort as they all knew that no matter what, they would always have each other's backs.

"I'm not lovestruck," blurted out James.

"He's lovesick," corrected Peter. They all laughed at James's expense. The hazel-eyed boy just grunted and turned onto his side, facing away from the other four. Their laughter slowly died down and they all fell asleep.

In the morning, it was no surprise that Lilac was the first to wake up. Her neck was starting to cramp as she was sleeping on Sirius's chest and James's head on her stomach was starting to get too hot.

"Morning," yawned Lilac sitting up. James's head fell onto her lap and she laughed at his groggy expression. Behind her, Sirius turned into a dog and curled up on his pillow. Remus actually woke up and started taking down the fort.

"What time is it?" Remus asked handing her James's glasses.

"It's seven," she answered, placing the boy's glasses on his face, "hey wake up. You too Wormtail."

"Let's flood the school," mumbled James sitting up and running a hand through his hair, "before Christmas, let's flood the school."

"What?" Lilac asked flatly.

"Prongs is onto something," said Sirius changing back into his normal self, "we can bring in the squid from the Black Lake."

"You're going to get expelled," said Remus incredulously, "I'm not taking part in this."

"Of course you aren't," said Lilac sarcastically, "if I'm getting dragged into this - which I most likely will - you're getting involved too. Anyways, McGonagall and Dumbledore love us too much to let us go."

"What about the Slytherins that live in the dungeons?" Peter asked frowning. "Wouldn't their common room get completely submerged?"

"Lilac and Remus can figure out that detail," said James with a shrug, "you, Sirius, and I can get ready to flood the place and bring in the squid. We'd have to do it at night so everyone would see it in the morning."

"Prongs, I'll help you on one condition," said Lilac smirking. James looked at her questioningly. "You have to ask Lily out on a date before Christmas Break."

All four of them grinned at James who looked - quite literally - like a deer caught in headlights. James looked like he wanted to protest but wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded his head. Lilac got up and stretched.

"Are you going down to breakfast?" Peter questioned.

"No, I'm going up to the girls' dorms," answered Lilac walking out of the room. James immediately sighed after she left and plopped back down on the pillows and the blankets. Sirius did the same beside him.

"Ask her out, Pads," said James, "if you do maybe she'll leave me alone. Lily's not going to go out with me. If she was then she'd have say yes years ago."

"Are you sure about that?" Sirius asked raising an eyebrow. "Lilac is Lily's twin sister after all. She wouldn't be trying to get you to ask her out if she didn't think Lily liked you back. Lily hasn't been insulting you at all this year either."

"You both have been getting along during Head duties," pointed out Remus.

"And I haven't heard Lily say anything bad about you yet," added Peter.

"Do you really think Lily would say yes?" James asked hopelessly. "We've just become friends. I don't want to make her mad at me. I'm… I'm happy just being her friend."

* * *

The Slytherin common room was dimly lit by torches. On its walls, were large tapestries of snakes and a long silver serpent statue was wrapped around the archway of the common room entrance. There were fine green leather couches and glass tables furnishing the room and the fireplace had green flames. No matter how fine and awe-inducing the common room was, Severus and Regulus preferred to stay away from it. The Slytherin common room was the place Death Eaters seemed to plot.

"Severus, Regulus, we haven't seen you around these quarters in a while," commented Evan Rosier when they walked into the common room. "I don't suppose the two of you are up to something?"

"What would we be up to?" Severus asked giving the wannabe Death Eater a glare.

"Considering the two of you, one has a Gryffindor bastard for a brother while one has a history with mudbloods," said Mulciber crossing his arms.

"And unlike you lot, the Dark Lord chose me," snapped Severus pulling up his sleeve. "Unless you could do better, I suggest staying out of my personal affairs. You wouldn't want the Dark Lord to think you were going after his men, would you?"

Regulus smirked as he followed Severus to the dormitories. Rosier and Mulciber didn't dare to talk to them again. They'd have to be more careful however, as their housemates were getting suspicious.

"Has the Dark Lord summoned you at all?" Regulus asked once they entered his dorm. None of the other seventh years were in there. It wasn't as if they would be surprised to hear about his affiliation, however.

"He's asked me to brew a couple potions. None were very dangerous or serious however," said Severus frowning, "I suppose he must be testing my competence before he gives me more complicated tasks."

"More complicated tasks? Such as?" Regulus asked raising an eyebrow.

"Such as poisoning Dumbledore."

* * *

Lily watched as Marlene and her sister talked about different types of skirts and tops. Without the prospect of Sirius Black between them, the two were great friends and got along easily. It was as if they had been friends for years. Getting up, she went through her trunk and pulled on a sweater before making her way down the stairs. James was sitting in front of the fire, fiddling with his wand and staring off into space.

"James? What are you doing?" Lily asked sitting down on the couch next to him. He looked surprised to see her and nervously looked at his hands.

"Nothing," he said in a voice an octave higher than normal.

"Am I… making you feel uncomfortable?" Lily asked. Her heart sunk and she wondered if she should leave.

"No! Not at all! You just surprised me," said James shrugging, "honestly, I didn't think you would willingly talk to me."

"Of course I would!" Lily exclaimed before blushing. She immediately tried to cover up her enthusiasm. "I'm the Head Girl and you're the Head Boy, after all."

"Right," he said shortly, "not friends?"

"Of course we're friends. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well, after I've been annoying you for the past couple years I didn't think you'd willingly put that aside."

"You weren't all that annoying," said Lily softly, "you're not as bad as I had originally thought. Perhaps we just got off on the wrong foot."

"Everything in the past years had gone wrong," chuckled James with a bittersweet smile, "I'm really sorry. Maybe if I hadn't been such an arrogant arse we would've been friends. Maybe if I stayed out of your life you and Lilac would've been closer. I messed up a lot of things, didn't I?"

"No," said Lily shaking her head, "no, don't think like that. Lilac… she never really liked me when we were younger. You being her friend was probably one of the best things that ever happened in her life. There's no use thinking about that anyways. What's happened has happened. We've started over and now we're friends."

James gave her a big smile and her heart fluttered. His smile was contagious and Lily found herself giving him a shy smile. They both sat together in a comfortable silence. It was late and there was no one else in the common room.

"Did Lilac and McKinnon go to sleep?" James questioned.

"No, what about your friends?"

"The Marauders never sleep," he said with a grin, "we're always scheming. Even Lilac."

"You do realize that you're Head Boy now, right? You can't keep pulling pranks like that," scolded Lily with a frown.

"It doesn't mean I can't contribute. You might be a bit surprised by this, but I do have some brains. Lilac and Sirius will be the ones pulling it off while Remus, Peter, and I do the thinking," explained James with a smirk. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"Lilac and Remus is going to end up doing all the work."

"Ah, but Padfoot is bloody brilliant. He's a lot smarter than you think."

"I know. You all are. Lilac showed me the map you guys made."

"She did?" James asked with raised eyebrows. "And you didn't report this to McGonagall? I'm surprised. We must be rubbing off on you."

"Shut up," she giggled. There was another period of silence as the two tried to think of something else to talk about. Neither minded silence however, sitting together in silence just felt _right_. Lily's heart skipped a beat everytime James moved. "Do you think Sirius likes someone? He hasn't even looked at another girl for a long time now."

"He's in love with Lilac. I can see it," said James with a grin, "they like each other but their of them made a move yet."

"They do seem really close," she mused, "I'd expect Sirius to make a move first."

"Nah, Sirius would be too scared. The last person he was going serious with was Marlene… and you know how that ended. He'd be terrified of losing Lilac the same way."

"Yeah," sighed Lily pulling her legs to her chest and resting her head on her knees, "Marlene and Sirius was a mess. I don't think Lilac would ever do that to him though. Although, he does seem like one of those emotionally unstable types."

"He's a real softie under his leather jacket."

"James?" Lily asked, gathering all her confidence.

"Yeah?" James asked looking over at her.

"Do you want to be my plus one? For Petunia's wedding?"

James's lips parted in shock and she almost laughed at his speechless expression. She would have laughed if she didn't feel sick to her stomach. Almost immediately after she asked her question she wanted to obliviate it away.

"M-me?" James stammered. "Of course! I-I'd love to! Wait, is this a… um… a date?"

"Er, well, it can be?" Lily said unsure. Her cheeks flamed. "If you want it to be. If not I totally understand and—"

"So it's a date," he confirmed with a goofy grin. Lily nodded and he jumped up. "It's getting late. We should go to sleep. Night, my Lily-Flower."

"Good night James."

James ran up the stairs and burst into his dorm. Sirius glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow at his flushed expression. Remus peered over at him from his book and Peter turned over to look at him. James fell face forwards on his bed and screamed into his pillow.

"What happened?" Remus asked worried.

"Lily just asked me on a date."

There was a moment of silence before everyone burst out laughing. Almost immediately the door opened again and Lilac ran in. She grabbed a pillow and jumped onto James's bed before hitting him violently.

"Don't you dare hurt my sister or else I will murder you!" Lilac exclaimed as James held up his hands to shield himself.

"Ah, Vix, stop, I won't!" James exclaimed falling off his bed. She stopped hitting him and smirked down at him from the bed.

"So, I heard she asked _you_ on a date. That means our deal is off."

"No, I'll ask her on a date before the wedding," protested James furrowing his eyebrows, "just because she asked me out first doesn't mean I can't take her on a date before. And did Lily already tell you?"

"Of course she told me. I'm surprised you didn't hear. She had a little screamfest when she ran into our dorm," said Lilac rolling her eyes, "but I bet you did the same."

James said no as the other boys said yes.

"Fine, but now you and Pads need to get together. Moony, Wormtail, and I, have been watching the two of you be all disgustingly mushy with each other for years now," huffed James glaring at his two best friends, "it's not fair that you can push me and Lily together but I can't push you and Sirius together."

"But Prongs," whined Lilac rolling her eyes, "we all know you're head over heels in love with Lily. I've never said anything about liking anyone. I only tell Sirius such things."

"Why only Sirius?" James pouted.

"Because you failed as a brother," joked Sirius with a grin "Anyways, Vix doesn't tell me everything. She has an annoying habit of keeping things to herself because she thinks it's good for other people."

"Sirius—"

"But it's _not_ ," continued the boy giving his girlfriend a glare, "it's the opposite, really. Friends are there to support you and we shouldn't have to constantly remind you that we will always help you."

James, Remus, and Peter gave each other confused and helpless looks. They had started to notice months before that Sirius and Lilac were beginning to become more closed off and closer but had assumed that it was because they liked each other. This argument however, was making them think there was something deeper and secretive going on.

"Did something happen?" Remus asked curiously.

"Good question Moony, did something happen, Lilac?" Sirius asked giving the girl a stern look.

"Yes, something did happen. James suddenly became my newest confidant, not you, Padfoot," said Lilc glaring at Sirius. Peter slowly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. His expression was worried and sincere.

"You can tell us anything," he said quietly. Her glare softened and Sirius felt a pang of jealousy at the fact that Peter held a special place in her heart.

"Lilac, they're our best friends. They're our _family_ ," said Sirius softly. She sighed and pursed her lips before looking at the others. James looked curious and concerned. Remus was worried and Peter looked hopeful.

"I'm trying to take down You-Know-Who," she blurted. There was a moment of silence before they all burst into chatter. James was furious with her for not telling him earlier. He couldn't believe that she had been doing something so dangerous without telling him. Lilac had been a part of his life for so long and he wasn't ready to lose her. Remus felt betrayed that she didn't feel like she could tell them. He understood that Lilac was trying to keep them out of it just for the sake of ignorance but there were so many secrets. Peter wasn't too surprised. He had suspected something like that.

"No more secrets," said James firmly. His hazel eyes shone with determination and fierceness.

"Ignorance is bliss but we've had our share of fun. Lilac, friends help each other. What would happen if we found out when you died? How do you think we would've felt?" Remus asked passive-aggressively. The girl looked at her hands guiltily.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. James bit back another angry comment and put his arms around her comfortingly.

"Tell us everything."

It took a long time to tell them the entire story. The boys stayed quiet and listened through the entire thing though. None of them made any comments which surprised her. They probably thought that if they spoke she'd stop telling them what her plans were.

"So you're looking for a hidden diadem?" Remus mumbled. There was a glint in his eyes. Remus may have been a prefect who preferred to not get into trouble but he had a knack for mischief and adventure. Mysteries excited him and uncovering a missing artifact intrigued him.

"I'm good at finding hidden things. I found most of the secret passageways," said James grinning, "we can use my invisibility cloak to get around at night too. Vix, things might've been easier if you'd told us earlier."

"We then have to fight You-Know-Who," she reminded.

"Did you think that we'd be too scared?" James scoffed. "We're Gryffindors. Even Peter would help fight, right?"

"R-Right," stuttered Peter a bit flustered. Lilac smiled and hugged James tightly. It felt like a giant weight was lifted off her shoulders now that they knew. Severus and Regulus most likely wouldn't react too well however, but she'd deal with that problem later.

* * *

 _AN: Starting from this point on the chapters may start getting published every other week or so. I've been getting ready for school and my birthday's coming up along with vacation. I've been working on the story so you don't have to worry. I'm going to keep writing this and complete it._


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

The first snow came in the first week of December. Lily was bundled up in a large black coat and snow boots. James was walking beside her in a similar black coat with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Both watched as Sirius and Lilac skipped through the snow with their arms linked. They were singing Christmas carols on the top of their lungs.

Sirius had on his leather jacket and some palm gloves while Lilac wore a bright red coat. A Gryffindor scarf was wrapped around her neck and they kept playfully bumping into each other. Hogsmeade was covered in a foot of snow and the snow hadn't stopped.

"If they sing 'Deck the Halls' one more time I'm going to transfigured them into snowmen," mumbled James in annoyance. Lily giggled and looked at the foot prints that were being left by her sister.

"They seem overly-enthusiastic about Christmas," she commented.

"That's because it's going to be the first break that Sirius actually goes home for. Usually he stays at Hogwarts or goes to the Potter Manor," explained James gazing at his best friend, "now he finally gets to say he's going home for once."

"Sirius ran away after fifth year, right?" Lily asked curiously. It had been a huge rumor last year and no one knew if it was true or not. None of the Marauders would speak up or address it.

"He did," confirmed James with a nod, "we don't talk about it. He stayed with me for a year and moved out this summer."

"His apartment is nice," said Lily quietly. She admired how James's parents took Sirius in and gave him a safe place whenever they could. It was a well know fact that the Black family would go to drastic extents to keep their family pure.

"It only looks that way because Vix won't let him pick the decorations," chuckled James. Lily laughed and glanced at Sirius and Lilac who were arguing about something. "What about you? What do you do for Christmas?"

"We have a small family gathering in the morning and do some presents but Lilac's usually with you and Petunia spends it with Vernon. My mum and dad usually go have dinner with the neighbors," she answered with a shrug. James's eyebrows furrowed and he suddenly felt a bit guilty. If Lilac was spending her Christmas with him, then Lily must've been lonely.

"You should spend Christmas with us this year," he offered.

"I'm not sure. I don't want to intrude at all," said Lily shaking her head. She had just become friends with them after all. She wasn't as close to them as they were with each other. It felt strange being the odd one out.

"You won't," reassured James, "I'll talk to Sirius about it."

"But—"

"Hurry up, Prongs and Prongsie!" Sirius yelled as they opened the door to Gladrags. Lily looked up at James in confusion and he seemed to turn red at the nicknames before running towards his best friend. They spoke in hushed whispers but it was obvious that James was embarrassed about something.

"Lily, come here!" called Lilac from the upper floor of the shop. Lily quickly walked up to her sister and they looked around at all the dresses on display. They didn't want anything that looked too much like witch wear. It was kind of difficult as they _were_ in a wizarding shop.

"Po— er, _James_ invited me to spend Christmas with you all," mentioned Lily as she watched her sister's expression carefully. She was pleasantly surprised when Lilac's face lit up in excitement.

"Really? That's great!"

"I wouldn't be intruding?" Lily asked confused. Lilac gave her a confused look and Lily sighed, realizing that she'd have to asked her about it someday. Now would be the best time. "I just thought that it'd be strange to have me there. After all we didn't really become friends until recently. I don't even know why you didn't like me for so long."

"If I'm being honest, I was jealous. It's childish but it's true. You were the favorite daughter for the longest time. When we started our first year I made friends for the first time but you didn't like my friends," said Lilac pursing her lips and frowning. "You thought they were bullies and you can't expect me to be alright with that."

"I… I didn't know you were jealous," said Lily guiltily, "if I did I—"

"Lily, it's my fault for being jealous. Our parents aren't the most fair, either," interrupted Lilac with a shrug. "What matters is that we're trying to fix this and I'm going to really try to be a better sister to you."

"What about Petunia?" Lily asked curiously. It was obvious that Petunia hated her but liked Lilac. That was what had hurt the most.

"Both her sisters were born magical. All she hears about is this magical world that she will never be able to experience. I'd be upset if I was her too," said Lilac shrugging. Lily bit the inside of her cheek and remembered the amount of times she had used magic at home without really thinking about how Petunia felt about it. Then again, her older sister had called her a 'freak' and yelled at her many times.

"I didn't expect to be a bridesmaid but why aren't you one?" Lily asked questioningly.

"Petunia said she wanted a normal wedding. You can't have a witch for a bridesmaid in a normal wedding."

"But you're her sister!" Lily exclaimed shocked. Lilac bit her lip before giving her sister a small smile.

"It's her wedding, Lily."

They then stopped talking about it and looked at the dresses in silence. Lily regretted asking but she felt relieved that she had a bit of closure. She felt stupid for not being more observant as a child but knew there was nothing she could do about it. Now she just had to hope that Petunia would forgive her.

"This is pretty," said Lily taking out a pale pink dress. It wasn't exactly something you'd wear for a wedding though so she put it back. There was a flurry of blue and she looked down to see a long midnight blue dressed pressed against her. It was gorgeous and had silver sequins on it. Lilac grinned at her and pushed it into her arms.

"You should try it on," she suggested. Lily quickly went to do so and fell in love with it immediately. When she got out of the dressing room she noticed that Lilac already found herself a dress. It surprised her how fast Lilac had picked one out. It was a beautiful silver color with a lacy design. Unlike the other dresses Lilac usually wore, this one was floor length.

"It's beautiful," said Lily staring at the silver. It seemed like liquid moonlight in her arms and it matched Lilac's purple hair.

"I know. I picked it out because the blue looked good with your hair," said Lilac smiling. Lily shook her head.

"No, I mean your dress," she said with a laugh.

"Oh, thank you," said Lilac slightly embarrassed by her mistake. They then went down to see what the boys were up to. Sirius had on a faux mustache while James had on a white Santa beard. Neither of them had picked out dress robes or a suit.

"Oh for Godric's sake," sighed Lily as she watched James dance with a mannequin. _This_ was the boy she had asked to be her plus one? Lilac had on an identical look of incredulousness on her face and she ripped off Sirius's mustache.

"Ow!" Sirius whined, touching the top of his lip.

"You know if you really wanted a fake mustache I could always chop off your hair and use that," offered Lilac smirking. Sirius immediately stopped fooling around and gave her a sheepish look. "I'm sure we could use some of your hair to give James a beard too."

"Wicked," said James grinning before he was whacked on the head by the purple-haired girl. Lily tried to stifle her laughter but failed.

"Have you two found anything for the wedding?" Lily asked after Lilac gave her an unhappy look.

"No," answered James sheepishly, "we were going to asked you two for help but you both took bloody forever."

"We took half an hour. It wasn't forever," said Lily frowning.

"Considering the amount of patience they have I'd say they nearly died of boredom," drawled Lilac giving the both of them unimpressed looks. They then spend a good half an hour helping the boys. It wasn't easy considering how Sirius was picky about what he liked and didn't like. Afterwards they went to the Three Broomsticks.

"It's so empty now," said Lily looking around. Usually there'd be a lot of kids talking and laughing over butterbeer but now many of the tables were empty. It gave off a sort of hollow feeling and dampened the mood a bit.

"I didn't expect a lot of parents to allow kids to go to Hogsmeade after last year," said Lilac with a shrug.

"It was horrible, there was so much damage," agreed Lily with a nod. The boys shared looks, knowing that Lily didn't know Lilac had been there during the attack. None of them wanted to tell her either, or else it'd raise a lot of questions they weren't willing to answer.

"Well isn't this different? Lily Evans willingly sitting with James Potter and Sirius Black," said Rosmerta walking over with a tray. She placed a bottle of firewhiskey in front of Sirius, a glass of something in front of James, and a mug of butterbeer in front of Lilac.

"Thanks Rosie," said Sirius popping the cap of the bottle.

"You better be glad I have a soft spot for you or else you wouldn't be getting that," said Rosmerta eyeing the firewhiskey, "anyways, what can I get you, Miss Lily Evans?"

"A butterbeer please," said Lily with a smile. Rosmerta nodded and left. Lily then eyed the glass James was drinking from suspiciously. "What's that?"

"It's pumpkin juice, firewhiskey, and a small splash of tea," said James before laughing at Lily's expression. She stared at the glass slightly disgusted by the interesting combinations of drinks it contained.

"Of course there's firewhisky in it," sighed Lily shaking her head.

"I'm not the only one. Vix's butterbeer has ginger and some Quintin Black in it," defended James as Lilac glared at him. Quintin Black was a type of alcohol sold by the Quintin family that was much stronger than butterbeer but less intense than firewhiskey. It had a pleasant taste, too. Lilac wasn't a fan of firewhiskey but she was more than eager for a little bit of Quintin Black.

"Oh for Godric's sake," muttered Lily giving Lilac a disapproving look. Her younger sister just shrugged and drank from her mug. Rosmerta then came back with Lily's butterbeer and James tossed her some sickles.

"Now you lot stay out of trouble. I don't want to have to kick you out like Prewett," warned Rosmerta eyeing Sirius and James.

"Please, you love us too much to do that," scoffed Sirius with a smirk.

"Then again, she likes Gideon and kicked him out anyways," muttered Lilac with her lips to the edge of the mug. She was then pinched painfully on the arm and yelped. "Sorry Rosie, we'll stay out of trouble."

"Good," said Rosmerta patting her head. She then walked off to serve some other customers.

"Do you three usually cause trouble here?" Lily asked curiously.

"Depends. We like to plan our pranks here and we tend to get a bit rowdy," answered Lilac smirking.

"A bit?" James asked incredulously. "In our fifth year we made a huge castle out of empty bottles. Then Peter accidentally knocked it over and chaos exploded."

"Fine, we do get rowdy," admitted Lilac with a sigh, "but this year's different."

"Yeah, it's our last year," mumbled Sirius leaning back in his seat, his his arm lazily thrown around Lilac. It was a casual and friendly gesture but it didn't stop Lily from sharing a look with James.

"So, this is a double date, right?" James asked learning forwards. Lilac's eyebrows furrowed and she glanced at Sirius who just shrugged. A smile spread of James's face and he winked at Lily. "I've held up my part of the bargain. I've taken Lily on a date so now you have to help with the prank."

"What?" Lily asked confused. "What prank?"

"Don't ask," sighed Lilac giving James an unhappy expression, "but you've still got to help with the prank too."

After awhile they went back to Hogwarts. Since many of the students didn't go to Hogsmeade, they were all outside playing in the snow and making snowmen. They found Peter rolling a snowball while Remus worked on homework. Marlene was also there helping Peter by collecting stones for the eyes and mouth. Lilac went to help Remus with homework while the others worked on the snowman.

"Have you all seen the Daily Prophet?" Marlene asked as she transfigured a quill into a carrot.

"No," answered Lily, "we were too busy getting ready to go to Hogsmeade this morning."

"There's been a couple muggleborns found," said Remus putting his essay down. His lips were pressed together and he gave Marlene a slightly pained expression. "They were found dead in Diagon Alley."

"That's horrible!" Lilac gasped glancing at Lily. They were both muggleborns which puts them at risk.

"That's not all," sighed Marlene sticking the carrot in the snowman harshly. "They were all found with carvings on them. Two letters. M and B."

"Mudblood," deadpanned Lilac. Lily gasped and blanched while Sirius's expression darkened. He marched up to her and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't say that. It's not true," he hissed angrily. Lilac yanked her arm away.

"I know it's not true. It's what they think though, and you know there's nothing we can do to change their minds," she said standing up so she could be face to face with him. He was taller but she made sure her presence was large. "I've already had it said to my face a million times, Sirius."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. It might not hurt you anymore but it still hurts me. It hurts Lily!" Sirius exclaimed. His tone was angry and sad but there was a hint of worry in it. Lilac glanced behind him to see Lily who looked like she was going to be sick. James was rubbing her arms and comforting her softly. Lilac stuffed her hands in her coat before walking towards the Black Lake. It had frozen over now that it was snowing.

Anger coursed through her as she internally screamed at whoever decided to make her a muggle born witch. It wasn't as if she had asked to be born one and then be threatened for something she couldn't control. She glared at the ice as she heard snow crunching behind her. The smell of smoke reached her nose and she made a face.

"Go away," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you," said Sirius quietly. He held the cigarette in his right hand and reached for her hand. Lilac watched as he pulled her hand out of her pocket and put both their hands in his pocket.

"You're right anyways," she sighed, "I hate this. What the hell did I do to tell to make them try and target me? I'm a muggleborn. Brilliant. Did I ask to be one? No!"

"Lilac," he murmured as he turned to face her.

"I'm terrified, Sirius. I'm a fucking Gryffindor but I'm so scared that I'm going to die."

"You're not going to die," he said firmly, "you have me, James, Remus, Peter, Lily, and Marlene. Plus, you're the brightest witch I know."

"What's so great about being a witch?" Lilac exclaimed louder than she had intended. Sirius's eyes widened in surprise but her anger didn't die down. "I'm being hunted by a group of racist blood-supremacists who want to kill me and my twin, I'm shut off from the muggle world - which was the only thing I used to know, I have to struggle and work twice as hard to prove myself as a muggleborn, I've lost my older sister, and everything continuously goes downhill!"

She felt something on her cheek and brushed it off with her hand, realizing that she was crying. That made her feel even more pathetic and she let out a strangled sound, throwing her arms around Sirius's neck. He dropped his cigarette and hugged her tightly.

"What happened with you and Petunia?" Sirius asked quietly.

"She said that she didn't want anything to do with the wizarding world after she got married. That she didn't want her new family to grow up around abnormals."

"Abnormals?" Sirius asked scrunching up his face.

"Freaks, Sirius," explained Lilac bitterly, "she didn't say it but I know she meant it. She called me and Lily freaks."

Sirius stiffened and his hold on her tightened even more. He knew how she must've been feeling. Petunia was her older sister who she looked up to. Now she'd been betrayed and he couldn't help but contemplate his and Regulus's relationship. It would never be fully mended, Sirius was too hurt for that, but he didn't want to live and die hating his little brother.

"You're not a freak. You're special and you're a person. Muggles and wizards might be different but they all are just humans. We're all people. No one's the same either, so it doesn't matter that you're a bit different than the muggles. Each muggle is different anyways," comforted Sirius, rubbing her back gently. A soft sigh escaped her and she turned her head to tuck her face in the crook of his neck. A shiver went down his spine when she kissed his skin softly.

"When did you get so philosophical and smart?"

"Ever since I read that one page over the summer," joked Sirius making her laugh softly. She felt better after getting all her pent up emotions out. It was nice to know she had someone to lean on who wouldn't judge her no matter what. The other boys and Lily would never judge her, but it was so easy to talk to Sirius and he understood her well.

"I love you," she said softly. His heartbeat sped up and he grinned. Even if she didn't mean it romantically the three words meant so much to him.

"I love you too," he said not even bothering to hide his giddiness. She raised an eyebrow and he laughed, brightening up the mood.

* * *

Alastor Moody was merciless in his attacks, not even giving Lilac enough time to catch her breath. He was very paranoid, always telling her things she should tell others and things that she shouldn't. What she hated the most was when he'd shout 'constant vigilance'. Lilac swore that she could hear it even in her sleep. It haunted her.

"Alright now lass, what spell do you desire to learn now?" Moody asked as he stopped firing hexes. Lilac sat down on the ground, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

"A spell in which I'll be able to catch my breath!" she exclaimed through pants. Moody's mouth turned into a scowl and he looked at her distastefully.

"That'll be a shielding spell. You've got to work on your endurance and your dueling. Your attacks were weak and you've been focusing too much on your defense," he said circling around her.

"Well I can't attack if I'm dead," she huffed, frustrated that she still hadn't been able to get the upper-hand once.

"You'll be dead anyways if you can't defeat your opponent," he shot back, "now get up. I'm not here to hold your hand and guide you through every spell. You're supposed to be smart. Use your head and attack."

"Use my head," she mumbled as she got back on her feet. They felt heavy and slow after all the running jumping and dodging she had done. Her wand arm was sore after blocking spell after spell. She'd been knocked back so much she wouldn't be surprised if she had a concussion.

"Constant vigilance!" Moody shouted, noticing her sluggishness. She jumped in surprise and her arm snapped up, holding her wand in front of her. He stopped glaring at her which meant she had done something right.

"Confringo!" Lilac exclaimed flicking her wand. Moody blocked it with ease.

"Who are you fighting, a fifth year?" Moody taunted. His eyes flashed dangerously and he wordlessly shot some spells at her. Lilac backed up and blocked as many as she could but one caught her on the arm. She winced as it went numb from the impact. There was a bit of fire starting to spread on her sleeve so she quickly put it out.

"Reducto!"

She jumped out of the way as he deflected her spell and shot another at her. Gritting her teeth, she pointed her wand at him but paused. If she used the spells made by Herpo the Foul, would she be using dark magic? Moody didn't give her any more time to think as a spell hit her and her wand flew out of her hand.

"Get up," he snapped harshly, "do you expect to be able to live if you hesitate in a battle?"

"Sorr—"

"No. That's enough for today. Tomorrow I want improvement," said Moody hobbling over to the fireplace and leaving. Lilac sighed and picked up her wand. She rushed out as she didn't want Dumbledore to walk in and start questioning her. Moody was right, she'd never survive if she couldn't use her head and think. She was overthinking however, and she needed to learn how to clear her mind and focus.

"How were lessons, Vix?" Remus asked when he saw her trudging down the hall. After telling them about the horcruxes she told them about her lessons with Moody. James and Sirius were jealous that they didn't get private lessons but Lilac told them they really weren't that great. She felt as if she was a walking dead body.

"I'm exhausted," she sighed, "it's so difficult."

"When learning with Alastor Moody I feel as if that's a given," he commented, carrying her bag for her. They had Transfiguration next, she wanted more than anything to have a free period to rest.

"At least we're going to transfiguration and not Care of Magical Creatures," she said making a face. Kettleburn always made them do some sort of exercise in that class. It might've been her least favorite class, second to DADA.

"Vix!" James yelled as he and Sirius ran over. "What did you learn today?"

"I learned that I can't beat a man who uses a cane to walk," she drawled with a grimace. Sirius gave her a reassuring look and grabbed her bag from Remus.

"He _is_ an auror," he pointed out, "you can practice dueling with us. James and I are pretty good at it."

"It'll be like our fourth year all over again," said James snickering. When they were in their fourth year the DADA professor at the time decided it'd be a good idea to partner people up and have them duel each other. It was a normal thing in DADA but this professor didn't put up and rules. That lead to Lilac, Sirius, and James having a three-way duel all around the classroom. McGonagall nearly had a heart attack when she saw the damages done. A couple students had also ended up in the Hospital Wing.

"Peter and I will keep things from getting too out of control," said Remus wincing at the memory. He had been one of the unfortunate students who'd been accidentally hit by a spell. Luckily it was a petrifying spell and nothing too serious. "Let's get to class before McGonagall thinks we're pulling off a prank."

When they got to Transfiguration, McGonagall was perched on her desk as a cat. At the sight of another animagus, the Marauders all grinned widely. They had many close calls with the professors in their own animagus forms. When McGonagall shifted back into her human form, everyone fell silent.

"Alright class, today we'll be tutoring the third year in the Lapifors spell," said McGonagall with a small smile when everyone stared at her blankly. They were never tutored when they were third years. "Yes, Mr. Black?"

"Do we have to?" Sirius asked in a slightly whiny voice.

"Why are we doing this anyways?" James asked with a lazy sigh.

"I decided that as N.E.W.T. students, you all should learn something by teaching students less experienced," said McGonagall opening the door. A large group of third years were waiting. There were a handful of kids from each house.

"Please don't be Slytherin, please don't be Slytherin," James and Sirius chanted as McGonagall started assigning people their partners. Luckily for them, they got assigned two Ravenclaws. Lilac was assigned a Hufflepuff while Remus and Peter got Slytherins. The Hufflepuff seemed extremely enthusiastic about turning things into rabbits. Lilac didn't know whether or not she should be concerned.

"Godric, are you alright?" Sirius snickered when he noticed the bunny ears protruding from her head. Lilac sighed and reversed the spell.

"The little Hufflepuff boy scares me," she said with a shudder.

"You've defeated a basilisk and two death eaters yet a third year _Hufflepuff_ scares you?" James asked with a snort.

"The guy wanted to turn literally everything into a rabbit. Think You-Know-Who but instead of trying to get blood purity he's trying to turn the world into fluffy little bunnies," warned Lilac seriously. The boys laughed at her which made her roll her eyes in exasperation. After Transfiguration they had an hour before dinner.

"We have Quidditch practice today," said James grabbing Sirius and running off. Now that it was their last year James was even more determined to win the Quidditch Cup. Even if Death Eaters were storming the castle he'd still continue with Quidditch.

"I'm tutoring a fourth year Hufflepuff in the library," said Remus before walking off. That left only Lilac and Peter.

"Can you teach me how to duel?" Peter asked after they watched Remus disappear around the corner. Out of the five Marauders Peter was the worst at dueling and spellwork. He lagged behind them in almost everything.

"Of course. Let's work in our dorm."

Peter was always not the brightest of the bunch. He was the one who followed in their footsteps and pointed the spotlight. James, Sirius, Lilac, and even Remus were the ones to create the footprints and stand under the spotlight. Peter wanted to be just as good as them. He wanted praise and popularity too.

"I'm not very good a dueling, but I'm good at spellwork," said Lilac after they cleared the room and made sure they wouldn't break anything.

"I'm sure you're better than me," mumbled Peter getting into the stance the DADA teacher had taught them. They spend a good hour shooting spells at each other and practicing. Moody's lessons made her a better dueler than Peter, but he definitely had potential.

"You hesitate too much," she commented when they stopped for a break.

"I don't want to accidentally hurt you," he admitted guiltily, "even though I know that I won't. I'm not really a fighter."

"That's fine. Not everyone can be good at something. Like gobstones. You're pretty amazing at it and I can't play for shit," she said with a laugh. Peter smiled, feeling better about himself. They put everything back and started doing their homework.

When James and Sirius came back they were covered in mud and grass. They had gotten into a brawl with the Slytherins who wanted to use the Quidditch Pitch while they were practicing. James, being the captain, fought with the Slytherin captain ending in two weeks of detention.

"Vix, we've got an idea of where the diadem could be," stated Sirius shedding his Quidditch gear and tossing it all on the ground.

"Yeah, you know how there's seven secret passageways?" James asked tripping over his feet in excitement.

"Well what if there were secret rooms?" Sirius continued, not letting Lilac speak. "Prongs and I've always thought there were secret rooms but we haven't found any. Maybe this year we'll find one _and_ the diadem!"

It made sense. The castle was very much alive and held a bunch of secrets that not even the Marauders had uncovered. The five always knew that they hadn't mapped every inch of the school yet.

"I'll look through the library," said Lilac standing up, "I'm sure Moony will help me."

"Wormy, Padfoot, and I will search for the room," said James nudging Peter and rushing to the door. Lilac grabbed his Quidditch jumped and gave him an unimpressed look.

"Take a shower first," she instructed. Mud caked his face and turned his hair brown. Sirius was in no better shape, except for his long hair which was pulled in a manbun. Somehow he managed to keep it clean and not a hair was out of place. While the two showered Peter got the map and started picking out places that could potentially hold a secret room.

Walking down to the library, she wondered if she'd be able to find the room in time. It was their last year at Hogwarts and time seemed to be going so fast. She could barely remember her first year, nor could she remember the shy know-it-all teacher's pet she used to be. In a way it felt good, to have grown in her own person and to have become bolder and wiser. At the same time if felt as if a piece of her had gone and died.

* * *

 _Ack! I've managed to squeeze out another chapter a couple weeks late... T^T_


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